


One of the Boys

by Losille



Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF, Marvel Avengers Movies RPF
Genre: F/M, RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2012-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 09:53:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 56,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Losille/pseuds/Losille
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All she ever wanted was for her best guy friend from high school to "notice" her.  Nearly thirteen years later, he does.  She's not sure she's ready for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Traditional disclaimers apply. I don't own a thing but for the original characters. Everything and everyone recognizable is used fictitiously. Not real.
> 
> This is multi-chapter. 
> 
> Please read and enjoy, and if you have a moment, leave a review or kudos! :)

Of all the exhausting, crazy dinner services Giuliana DeMarco had presided over as an executive chef, this was one was fairly close to ranking in the top five. Two line chefs had called out ill, the sous chef on duty had gone home on a family emergency, and a fair few of the front of house wait staff had called out. Replacements were difficult to find on such short notice. Saturday dinner services were tough enough with a full staff, but with so many out, things were bound to get crazy.

Dinner had started at five and had not slowed one bit until they had seated their last guest at ten. Working for a prestigious restaurant on the Las Vegas strip was never dull, of that fact she was well aware. But it was at times like this she questioned her sanity in such a stressful—but rewarding—environment. She was thankful, however, for having such a hard working team that they could pull it all together for a successful night. After they’d sent the last dessert out, she leaned back against the counter and took stock of the decimated kitchen. Nonessential cleanup had been lax tonight in preference of the service.

She had a stack of bills and paperwork she still had to get through, that she’d put aside to alleviate the hole left by her absent cooks. Though it had been a nice vacation from the mind numbing task of computing numbers and catching up on correspondence, doing so drove home the fact that it had been a very long time indeed since she’d been in the trenches and doing any actual cooking. But she loved her job. It was one of her bucket list goals in life to work for one of the top chefs in the world, but she could leave the politics and headaches of being the boss behind. With Michel manning the helm of his restaurant empire in New York, he made infrequent trips out to Las Vegas. Hiring, firing and buying fell to her. And she was, more often than not, stuck in an office. Getting her hands—and now that she looked at herself, coat and pants—dirty felt good.

“I can’t believe we made it,” Giuliana remarked, tossing a towel over her shoulder and brushing back a flyaway hair from her forehead with the back of her hand.

“You’re not too bad, Chef.”

Giuliana glanced at the playful eyes of her pastry chef who sailed by, covered in flour carrying with him a heaping tray of dirty utensils to be washed.

“You’d think you actually knew how to cook.”

Giuliana scoffed and laughed at his joke. “Funny, I thought the same about you, too.”

Declan gave her a toothy grin and continued on his way.

“Does anyone else need me for anything?” she asked.

A chorus of ‘nos’ abound.

“Great,” she said. “I’ll be in the office doing paperwork. Drinks are on me after you’re done.”

“Thank you, Chef,” they murmured like exhausted, half dead zombies as she left the kitchen for her office. She stopped briefly to wash her hands and then found the comfort of her office chair. There were even more papers in her bin now, after deliveries that had happened during the evening. Great.

She yawned and sighed heavily as she sat up and turned the computer on. It whirred to life, but a soft knock at the door took her attention.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“It’s Libby,” said the voice on the other side.

“You know you don’t have to knock,” Giuliana called.

Libby slipped into the office, looking exhausted, but still as pressed and proper as the manager should look in her expensive business suit. “Hey.”

“Hi…” Giuliana said slowly. “What’s up?”

“I had to escape for a few minutes. I can’t take it anymore,” she said, flicking her long blonde hair behind her shoulder.

Giuliana reached into the desk drawer and withdrew the bottle of Scotch and two short glasses. She poured one finger into each and handed Libby one. “Take it.”

Libby accepted it and licked her lips, but didn’t drink. “I shouldn’t do this on the clock.”

“A few sips aren’t going to hurt you,” Giuliana said.

Libby laughed and tossed back the whole of the Scotch, coughing at the pungent, burning flavor. Her face screwed up into a grimace briefly, but she smiled. “Wow, that is strong.”

“Thirty year,” Giuliana said. “It does that.”

Libby opened her mouth to say something, but the room filled with the electronic ringing of a cell phone playing the Star Spangled Banner.

“Who is that?”

“My friend,” Giuliana said, humming along with song as it played.

“Is he unnecessarily patriotic?” Libby asked.

Giuliana snorted with a laugh as she bent down and grabbed her purse. “Uh, no. Hold on a second.” She put the phone to her ear and sighed. “What do you want?”

“Now, is that any way to greet your bestest friend in the whole world?” said the male voice on the other end of the line.

“When that bestest friend hasn’t called, texted or emailed in six months, I would say fuck yes,” she replied.

He laughed. “Well, I’ve been busy... you know how it is... press tours and filming and making a bajillion dollars.”

“Are you drunk dialing me?” she asked. “You sound drunk. Maybe high...”

“I may have had a few drinks,” Chris replied. Loud sounds filled the background, followed by static before he cut out briefly. “But I’m not that drunk. I just wanted to see what you were doing.”

“I’m working,” she replied. “You know, what normal people have to do.”

“You still in Las Vegas?” he asked.

Giuliana pursed her lips. “Yeah, why?”

“So am I,” he said.

“What?” she replied. “Do my ears deceive me? Are we actually in the same place at the same time?”

“I think so,” Chris laughed. “I need to see you. It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, it has,” she said. “Why are you in Las Vegas? Are you shooting a movie?”

“Uh, no, my birthday’s Wednesday,” he replied. “Did you really forget my birthday?”

“Is Wednesday the thirteenth already?” She glanced at her calendar. Yes, yes it was Wednesday.

Chris laughed. “Don’t feel too bad, I’ve forgotten yours every year since I met you. My mother is who reminds me every year.”

“Is that why I get last minute cards and flowers?”

“Most likely,” he replied.

“You are such a guy,” she scoffed disgustedly. “Well, how are we going to do this? Do you want to meet up before?”

“I’m completely open,” he replied. “What’s your schedule like?”

“My only night off is Monday,” she said. “And Wednesday, if this is your way of inviting me to the party, I’m not out of here until like eleven in the evening.”

He laughed. “Good, ‘cause the party doesn’t start until ten. But yeah, I want to see you before then. We’ve got lots of catching up to do, and I can’t do that while I’m schmoozing.”

“You wanna meet for drinks tomorrow night?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “That’s a good start. You got any friends who might want to come?”

“Depends on the type of ‘friends’ you mean.”

“Those of the female and hot kind,” he remarked.

Giuliana rolled her eyes. “How they ever thought casting you as Captain America was true to life, I have no idea. You’re repugnant sometimes.”

“I’m a man,” he remarked. “In Las Vegas.”

“Okay, meet me at the Eastside Bar at the Wynn at midnight tomorrow. Dress nice.”

“I got it,” he said. “I’m serious about the girls thing. I have friends who are coming with us.”

“Great. Are you sure you really want to see me and you’re not just looking for a hookup with one of my friends because it’s better than chancing it with a hooker?” she asked.

She could almost hear Chris rolling his eyes at her this time. Though they had not seen each other in years, their conversations via email, text and phone were always like this. Actually, it’d been like this in high school, too.

“Just bring some,” he said. “Even one is better than none.”

Giuliana looked across the desk at Libby who was watching her with a concerned face. “Hold on a second, Chris.” She placed her hand over the receiver and looked at Libby. “You want to go get a drink with me and my friend tomorrow? He’s bringing friends, too.”

Libby stared at her. “Giuliana… your friend… you said…”

Giuliana laughed. “Yeah, my friend Libby will go. I’ll talk to you later, hot stuff.”

“Awesome,” he said. “Catch you later, babe.”

She hung up the call and looked across at Libby again who was still trying to work through the one sided conversation she had just heard. After a few minutes of opening and closing her mouth, Libby frowned. “Your friend… Captain America…”

“His name is Chris, and yes, he is _that_ Chris,” she replied.

“Why didn’t you say anything when we went to the movie?” Libby asked. “That’s a pretty important thing to mention.”

“It’s not important,” Giuliana said. “That’s not who he is. That’s just a job, nothing else.”

Sometimes she felt like a broken record. She never made a habit of discussing who her friend was with people, even with other close friends like Libby, but sometimes Giuliana felt like she was protecting a man who didn’t deserve the protecting. He could be incredibly Hollywood at times, but every once and awhile he was just the boy from Boston who hung out with the fat Goth chick under the stairs at school.

“Do you want to go have some drinks tomorrow night after we finish service?” Giuliana asked.

“Um, _yeah_ ,” Libby said.

“Awesome,” Giuliana said. “Now get out of the office so I can do my paperwork and don’t have to worry about it tomorrow.”

Libby stood and put her Scotch glass on the desk. “Alright, I’m going back out. Pray for me.”

“I will,” Giuliana replied, watching her friend leave. With a sigh, she turned back to the computer and stared at the desktop for some time trying to find motivation to work. She wanted to be excited that Chris was in the same area, and that they would finally see each other after nearly thirteen years, but she was worried about what he might think. They’d only reconnected within the past few years because their mothers had never lost touch. They’d both changed a lot in that time. But she supposed it didn’t matter now. Even if she called and canceled, he’d find her anyway and make a big deal about her flaking out on him. Because that was Chris. He was dramatic.

She yawned and shook her head, reaching for her paperwork. Later. She’s worry about him later.

\----

Chris hung up his call and set his cell phone back on the counter in front of him. He never realized how much he missed her until he spoke to her again. Maybe that was the reason why he never called her. There were a million and one times in the last six months that he had thought to call her, to share with her the crazy whirlwind of activity his life had been, but he knew how homesick he felt after he spoke to her. Even though she was in Las Vegas—and had been here for five years now—he still felt like it. And he couldn’t wait to see her.

“Is your friend coming?”

Chris looked up at the sound of English accented voice and nodded. “Yeah, she is.”

“You don’t sound excited,” Tom replied.

“I’m very excited,” Chris said. “I’m just worried about the feelings seeing her will conjure up.”

“Long lost love?” Tom asked.

“She’s like the third sister I never wanted but never knew I needed. Our moms are best friends.”

Tom smiled. “Then she’s totally free for me to make a move.”

“You can try,” Chris said, raising a brow at his friend. “She’s a ball buster… and I’m still not entirely sure she likes dick.”

“You’ve never inquired?” Tom asked.

Chris shook his head adamantly. “It never mattered in our friendship. But she never really was much for the guys in high school. Liked hanging out with her group of girls more.”

“She spent time with you.” Tom grinned. “What does that say about you?”

“You know what, you just need to meet her,” Chris said and scoffed.

Tom nodded his head and took a drink from his glass. “So are we going out tonight or are we just going to sit in here and be nostalgic? I didn’t fly halfway across the world to Las Vegas to sit in a hotel room with you.”

“Yeah,” Chris said. “Let me go grab my wallet.”


	2. Chapter 2

The following night, after a much easier dinner service than the one the night before, Giuliana stood in front of a mirror in the employee locker room, tugging down the snug fabric of the black skirt she had chosen for the night. It didn’t provide a lot of coverage, but it was enough without being vulgar, and actually covered more than the flashy silver beaded top she had unearthed from the recesses of her closet. She hadn’t worked her ass off—literally—to not show the fruits of her labor when she got the chance. After all, she didn’t know what ‘friends’ Chris would show up with. She didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb amongst a bevy of hot Hollywood actors and actresses... and Libby.

Libby stepped into the mirror beside her and leaned over, applying another coat of lipstick to her lips. Of course, Libby the Leggy-Once-Swedish-Model, looked perfect in her cobalt blue cocktail dress. She always did. She was the kind of girl Giuliana would have avoided at all costs in high school, just to avoid the torment, but Libby had proved herself to be an awesome friend without being a Mean Girl. However, she was also responsible for this damn skirt.

“Quit tugging on the skirt,” Libby said. “I do not spend two hours a morning with you in the gym, watching you slave away on the elliptical to have you cover up those thighs. You wear the miniskirt and you wear it proudly.”

Giuliana stopped her fidgeting and looked at her friend. If anything, Libby was the biggest motivator in the world, and she hadn’t cared what she looked like when they had first met. “I’m just nervous. We haven’t seen each other since high school... since I changed.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Libby instructed. “You’re already friends with the man.”

“I know... I guess I just want him to look at me like he does girls like you,” Giuliana said. Actually, she just wanted guys in general to look at her like that. She didn’t care who did it. About seven years ago when she had made the decision to be healthy, it had been for that reason. She was done being the frumpy Goth chick that guys either didn’t approach because they were scared or because she wasn’t cute and feminine like the others. Or, in Chris’ case, only ever considered her their best friend or sister.

There were days when she missed the comfort of the shield the Goth persona gave her, but she also realized she couldn’t live behind it forever. It hadn’t been healthy for her back then and it definitely wasn’t now.

“If he’s worth being your friend, he won’t care what you look like,” Libby said.

“He doesn’t,” Giuliana corrected. “He never cared what I looked like. It was never a qualifier to our friendship. You know, it’s more of a personal hang up than one of his making. I never doubted for one minute he didn’t have my back, but I want to feel worthy of it. He’s just this big movie star now... how can I ever compare to the people he gets to hang out with on a daily basis?”

Libby placed her hands on her shoulders and physically turned her so they would have to look at each other instead of in the mirror. “You listen to me. You are beautiful no matter what you look like because you’re an awesome human being. I know it’s not ever going to sink in, because lord knows I’ve tried for the past four years we’ve known each other, but you are perfect no matter what. He knows that, too.”

Giuliana sighed. “Thanks, Libby.”

“It’s just one more free service I offer,” Libby replied. “Now, are we ready to go? We’re going to be late.”

“Yeah,” Giuliana replied, grabbing her clutch and doing one more check in the mirror. She did look pretty good tonight.

Giuliana followed Libby out of the locker room and grabbed the elevator up to the main casino floor where the bar was. It was somewhat satisfying when a few heads turned in their direction as they stepped out of the elevator, but mostly people ignored them. In this particularly part of the casino, there were beautiful people abound. The high roller rooms always attracted the beautiful gold diggers looking for their next whale to net.

They made their way down the small staircase to the lounge. The place looked packed tonight, but judging by the time, shows had probably just let out. She looked around the bar and almost missed him, but she found him sitting in one of the couch and chair clusters, arms sprawled out on the back of the couch acting like he owned the joint. He looked good, even with the shaved hair and thick beard. Sitting around him were a few of his friends—she recognized them instantly. A tiny blonde woman sat with the giant Australian who played Thor, and then the one who played Loki. It was nice to know that there wasn’t an obnoxious number of people with him, but she also knew if a club was hosting his birthday party this year, then there would be more somewhere else.

As Giuliana stepped in front of them, she noticed their demeanor change. It went from relaxed to stiff in a matter of seconds, and she realized that they might think she was there to be an obnoxious fan. Chris’ eyes went first to Libby, and after a long perusal of her body, he turned his attention to her, but did not meet her eyes for a long time. Even when he had finally met her eyes, it took a good minute for the light bulb to go on over his head. 

He jumped up from his seat. “Oh my god... Giuli!”

“Hey,” she said as he grabbed her in his strong arms, hugging her close. “Sorry we’re late.”

Chris parted from her and looked over her body again. It felt so wrong and yet so right. This was the boy she had gone to pool parties with in middle school. He was the guy who didn’t do his homework and bummed hers to copy at lunch so he wouldn’t get a zero. On the other hand, he was beautiful. The years had been good to him and taken away the boyishness and replaced it with chiseled, masculine beauty. And to have a man like this looking at her… no, almost licking her skin with his eyes… made her feel wanted and amazing even if it was strange.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked.

“Twelve years happened,” she replied.

“You look amazing,” he said. “My god...”

Giuliana laughed. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Cap.”

He rolled his eyes, laughed and hugged her again. Giuliana noticed a group of women behind his head who were not happy. She pushed back on him and smiled, turning to Libby. “This is Libby, my friend.”

Chris turned to her and immediately flipped on the charm. Apparently some things never changed. But he did stop long enough to introduce them to the others, at least formally. “Guys, this is Giuliana and Libby. G, that’s the other Chris and his wife Elsa. And that’s Tom.” The handsome auburn haired man smiled brightly and waved at her, but she offered her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

He grinned. “Likewise.”

She had to forcibly move her attention to the other Chris and his wife, shaking each of their hands. “So what do I call you, Chris? It’s got to be confusing.”

“Hemsworth will do,” he laughed.

Elsa laughed. “You can call him anything and he will answer.”

Giuliana smiled and glanced around again, deciding she needed a drink if she was going to make it through the night. All the cocktail waitresses, however, were either missing or occupied. “I’m going to go get a drink. You want anything, Libby?”

“I’ll come with you,” Libby said with a smile, linking her arm with hers and pulling her toward the bar. The bartender was attentive and took their drink orders quickly. While they waited, Libby turned back around and rested her arms back on the bar as she looked out on the crowd and across at the party they were joining. Giuliana glanced back to them, finding Chris and Tom in a conversation with each other.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Giuliana asked.

Libby chuckled. “I think Chris is probably trying to reconcile what he expected to show up and what actually did.”

Giuliana let a small smile spread on her lips.

Libby turned and looked at her seriously. “You have a thing for him.”

Giuliana sighed. The blush that crept to her cheeks was hot and made her turn away. “I always have. He just never saw me in that way. We were like an old married couple in high school, but without the benefits of a romantic relationship.”

“That explains a lot,” Libby said and leaned in. “Well, he’s totally into you now.”

She giggled as her blush deepened. Yes, she realized she had his attention, but now she didn’t know if she wanted it in that way. She wanted him to continue loving her because of who she was—not what she looked like. It figured that only at this point would she realize the problems with her plans. If she let it go, and something were to happen between them, did she really want to destroy their friendship?

The bartender slid their drinks in front of them and Giuliana paid, turning back around. She supposed it didn’t matter at moment. Right now, she would attempt to enjoy her night with him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chris sat back down on the edge of the couch, watching in amazement as the blonde and brunette retreated to the bar to get their drinks. He knew, as a gentleman, he should have offered to go for them and pay for them, but he was literally stunned speechless. This was not the girl he’d last seen in Boston before he officially left for New York when they graduated high school. That girl had stick straight black hair, heavy black makeup and pale skin. She wore grunge metal shirts and big black baggy jeans. Sometimes she donned a chain that connected her right earlobe to her nose piercing. All he could recall about how she looked at that time was the cloud of black. The way she covered herself up in the costume to push people away.

Now, though, she was every bit the picture of vibrancy and happiness. She’d let her hair go natural back to the dark brunette and loose curls, wore face powder that actually matched her flawless olive skin tone, and clothes that were body conscious. _Really_ body conscious. So much so that he found it difficult to focus on anything other than the taught, smooth skin of her legs and, when she turned around, her ample cleavage.

As she stood at the bar, she crossed her right leg behind her left and used the top to rub along her lower calf. He was certain of the fact she didn’t know what she was doing, but he found it one of the most seductive, sexy movements imaginable.

Tom leaned over and grabbed his whisky from the table in front of him, taking a small drink. He set it back down and looked directly at him. “Not what you were expecting?”

Chris shook his head.

“Can I still hit on her?” Tom asked.

Chris looked at him, knowing Tom was joking. If Tom was anything, he was secretive; he never made his intentions fully known until he had already sprung the trap, much like the character he played. This was just Tom being difficult because he could. Still, it made Chris stop to think about it. Did he want someone “hitting” on her? Or did he want a crack at it?

His heart had never been a problem—he had never stopped loving her as a friend. Now, however, his brain had sent very definite signals of lust directly to his groin. She’d always been cute before, when she dressed down from her normal school clothes—those times when they were just hanging out with each other as kids and she was all track pants and tank top. Now, however, she was hot.

“That’s okay,” Tom said with a grin. “I can totally get behind her friend. In front of, under… you know, whatever it takes.”

Giuliana leaned over to her friend and spoke lowly to her, giggling about something.

“How do we know she isn’t a lesbian?” Chris asked without thinking.

“Chris, honey,” Elsa said from her seat, “no lesbian dresses like that to meet an old male acquaintance. She wore that on purpose for you.”

 _For me?_ Chris thought to himself. It didn’t seem likely. As teenagers, she always acted like he was such a pain to be around. Of course, he knew that was partly true, but she had never shown any romantic interest in him. If she had…

His thought ended when she turned away from the bar, drink in hand and started back over to them. When did she get so sexual? Where did she learn to move like that? Had she always done that? Had he been too stupid to notice?

He wouldn’t have noticed it if she had tried back then. At that time, he’d been so into himself and what he thought was important. There had been one girl he had fixated on and apparently hadn’t noticed the one walking right alongside him for all those years.

Chris stood again as she came over, not quite knowing what to do or say. He’d never had a problem talking to her before. She was the person who had been his major sounding board over the last few years when his life had really started getting crazy. Whenever he had to work through something major in his life, he went to three people for advice: his mom, his dad… and Giuliana. Well, that was after his mother had slipped him Giuliana’s number again a few years ago.

Wait. Had his mother known about this? Is that why she had insisted he contact her?

Giuliana smiled at him and cleared her throat. “Are you going to move so I can sit?”

Chris shook his head and realized he was in the way and hadn’t moved for her. He stepped back and held out an arm for her to pass. She shifted past him in the close quarters and rested down onto the small couch.

 _Don’t look at her legs. Don’t look at her legs._ He repeated the phrase over and over as she got comfortable and then crossed one leg over the other, her skirt riding up just a little bit more. Damn, he’d looked.

Chris sat down with a heaviness he had not intended, jostling the couch and thus jostling her slightly. Her breasts bounced a bit and he cringed, clamping his eyes shut and tearing his gaze away. He had to look at her eyes. He had to.

Luckily, the others had pulled her into conversation so she didn’t notice. At least he hoped she hadn’t. He figured the fact that he hadn’t been smacked upside the head was fair proof that she hadn’t caught him ogling her goods.

“So what was Chris _really_ like in school?” asked Tom.

Giuliana laughed. “A huge dork. But I don’t think he’s lost that at all.”

Tom laughed. “Not really.”

“I wasn’t that much of a dork,” he defended.

“At least you weren’t as bad as me,” she smiled. “I was the worst.”

Chris shook his head. “No you weren’t.”

“Yeah I was,” she laughed. “Seriously, guys, my nickname was Ghouly Giuli because I was so into the Goth scene.”

Her use of the epithet that the less than nice people in high school had called her made him ache. He’d hated when people used it and had told a fair number of people off who had used it around him. He could still remember the times he had been there to comfort her after a particularly mean person had gotten through with her. That was when he’d assigned himself her protector. 

Even his old school friends still used it and he made a big deal about it. They obviously had not seen this chrysalis transformation. When they did, they would shit bricks. Literally.

This was like the ten year reunion everyone dreaded in high school where the nerds had become the rich, handsome ones that everyone flocked to. Only better.

“Are you still?” Hemsworth asked with a laugh. “I find it really difficult to picture.”

She giggled. “Yeah, sometimes I do, but I outgrew a lot of it. It’s good to be nostalgic sometimes… and now I know to actually make it look good.”

“You wanna picture it?” Chris asked his friend, reaching for his wallet.

“You do not have a picture of me in there!” Giuliana screeched, reaching for his hand, but he already had the wallet out of his pocket and opened up. He lifted his arms up and away from her reach to flip through the pictures. She grabbed for it again, but he was too fast and handed it off to Hemsworth first. Giuliana hung her head, her face aflame. “You’re terrible.”

“You love me,” he said with a smirk, grabbing his beer and taking a long drink as the wallet was passed around. Each of them had a good laugh over it.

“I was a scrawny bookish geek in school,” Tom piped up. 

“How has that actually changed, Tom?” Hemsworth joked.

Tom rolled his eyes and laughed. “Touché.” He tossed the rest of his whisky back and clapped his hands together. “I’m going to get another. Anyone else?”

After receiving nos, he left and Chris turned back to the conversation.

“So I heard you two just had a baby,” Giuliana said, speaking to Elsa.

Both Hemsworth and Elsa lit up. There had been little else they talked about since the baby had been born last month. And like a good father, Hemsworth pulled out his cell phone and found a picture. Giuliana leaned over and took his phone in her hands and cooed over the sight. India was all squished face with a white hat covering her head, little pink flowers dotting the fabric

“She is just adorable,” Giuliana said as she handed back the phone. “Did you leave her at home?”

Elsa shook her head. “No, she is at the hotel with a nanny right now. We just couldn’t leave her, but we also couldn’t miss the party.”

Chris nodded and grasped for the attention again. “Yeah, it’s sort of an unofficial ‘good job’ celebration for the movie doing so well in addition to my birthday.”

“Ah,” Giuliana replied.

Conversation like this continued for the better part of two hours, and many drinks later, Chris was feeling buzzed and ready to move on to a little more fun, but Elsa and Chris headed back to their hotel, Tom and Libby were in the process of wandering off together and Giuliana looked more than exhausted.

She yawned into her hand and blinked at him. “I need to go home and sleep, Chris. It’s been a really busy week.”

“I understand,” he said softly.

“I’m glad you called,” she replied. “I would have never known you were in town if you hadn’t. I don’t pay attention to the big party announcements unless we’re catering.”

Chris nodded. He didn’t want the night to end. He wanted to keep her here now that he had her alone, just to talk to her. To really catch up. But she wasn’t making that possible.

Giuliana smiled and reached out for him, patting his cheek. “Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow? Just you? I mean, I know you’ve got this whole thing going and you’re man about town, but I just thought I could cook you a good meal and that it would be nice and—.”

“Giuli,” he said, holding up his hand, “I would love to have dinner with you. But you don’t have to cook if it’s too much like work. Let me take you out.”

She looked shocked that he’d agreed to dinner with her. “Let me make dinner for you. I bet you don’t get a lot of home cooked meals made specifically for you from a personal chef.”

“Not yet.” He grinned. “But I’ve been considering looking for a personal chef.”

“You have?” she asked.

Chris smiled. “Yeah.”

“For how long? I could have given you names,” she said.

“Since about two hours ago,” he replied.

“What? I don’t underst—,” she began but paused when he looked at her seriously. ‘Oh’ she mouthed but did not emit any sound. A violent red blush spread across her cheeks, she swallowed and fidgeted uncomfortably. 

Chris couldn’t believe he had reduced her to a puddle of wibbling shyness. He’d never done that before, especially to her. She literally had a pair of brass balls. Nothing ever seemed to affect her.

He smiled and reached up, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Chris… I…” she started.

But he didn’t let her continue. He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, experimentally at first, just to see what would happen. She didn’t push him away, and it didn’t feel weird. No, he actually felt the exact opposite of weird. A surge of excitement went through him, circled around his groin and fled back up his spine. He’d never felt something like this… if a kiss could do this, what would other things induce?

She responded back to him, her hands resting on his upper chest, just over his collar bones. Her lips were like magic, soft and supple and completely suckable as she moved with him. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been kissing her, but he knew it wasn’t long enough as she gently pushed him away. When he parted, he noticed that she was flushed a deeper red from her chest up to her cheeks and her full lips were delightfully swollen. She bit the lower one in embarrassment.

“Chris…” she said again. 

“Don’t over think it, Giuli,” he replied, cupping her cheeks with his hand and running a thumb across her swollen lips. 

“How can I not? You never paid attention to me in this way before, and now the only thing that’s changed is my appearance,” she said. “Is this just because I look different?”

Chris pressed his lips into a flat line. Was it? Of course it played a huge role, he knew he was a visual person. Most men were when it came to women. But there was the attachment he had with her, too. He could not honestly imagine a life without her as a friend, at least. It was what made her so special to him, and now he was just thinking he’d been too stupid to notice a romantic feeling when they were kids because she wasn’t who he was _supposed_ to date according to the ridiculous social schema in high school.

“Giuli, we were kids,” he said. “I was so into myself then. I just never really looked around me.”

Giuliana sighed. “I know I wasn’t much to look at then… not like Jennie.”

He’d been so head over heels for the typical choice—a cheerleader—that he hadn’t paid attention to her. When Jennie had ended it a week before senior prom, he’d been so heartbroken he couldn’t think of anything else but to wallow in his misery. And who’d been there all along to comfort him? Giuli. He was such an idiot.

“The only thing I ever noticed about you physically was how you shrouded yourself in black,” he said. “Even you have to admit you used it as an excuse to keep people at bay, not as a form of self-expression. Now, though, you have a self assurance that I find particularly sexy. The clothes do help,” he said and ran his finger along the edge of her skirt where he had rested his hand on her thigh, “but that’s not what solely attracts me to you. You could be wearing sweats and an old shirt and I wouldn’t care.”

“Chris, I’ve had a crush on you ever since I met you in eighth grade.”

The words seemed to tumble from her mouth without her being able to stop them and she blushed again. It made his heart soar from joy and yet confused him at the same time.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he asked.

“And risk you laughing in my face?”

“I would never have laughed at you, G,” he replied.

She sighed.

“You know, it’s funny,” he said. “You don’t know how much hearing this means to me… now at this point in my life and career… to have someone who has had a crush on me since high school. You liked me before and in spite of all the craziness that has come into my life. Do you know what my life has become with meaningless flings just because of who I am in celebrity land? It’s exhausting and I don’t want that. I never did.”

She laughed. “Yes, against my better judgment, I do like you for you. The package is just a happy and welcome bonus.”

Chris grinned. “Then you understand where I’m coming from.”

Giuli yawned again into her hand and sat back. He felt bereft and cold as she did, reaching for her clutch on the table beside her empty drink. “I’m going home. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Come back with me to my hotel,” he said, not believing the slight whine in his voice. He wanted her to stay. His entire body wanted it. Needed it.

She smiled. “Oh… you don’t know how much I want to.”

“Then come with me.” He grabbed her right hand as she stood up.

“No,” she said. “Good night, Christopher.”

She squeezed his hand and then removed it from her arm, walking away from him. Chris sat in dumbfounded silence, trying to make sense of what had just happened. But then he realized he was sitting alone in a bar looking like an idiot. He sighed heavily and got up to leave the bar. She wasn’t going to get away that easily tomorrow. Not at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chris felt like he was dragging his feet into the hotel’s gym the next morning to participate in the once daily workout session that Hemsworth had talked him into while they were in Vegas. He didn’t understand why he had to come with the man when it was Hemsworth’s and Tom’s turn to tune up their bodies for their filming to begin in a few months. Cap 2 didn’t start shooting until next year. He had time to let himself go.

And yet, he didn’t. In a few hours he’d be headed over to Giuliana’s place, which was perhaps why he had convinced himself to get out of bed earlier than he should have after being up half the night trying to make sense of how Giuliana had left it at the bar. There was no doubt in his mind that she _wanted_ all that to happen, but there was something holding her back. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on that made her shy away from him. 

He truly hoped it wasn’t because she thought he just wanted to sleep with her and move on his way. Because he didn’t. He wanted more. For a long time now, he’d wanted “more.” More out of life, more out of his career, and more out of his personal relationships. He’d been searching for an anchor to keep him from drifting off into the deep end of Hollywood. Whatever had changed last night between them made him suddenly hope that she might be that “more” to him, but she clearly wasn’t going to make it easy on him.

“Ah, there you are,” Hemsworth intoned as he set a large dumbbell on the ground. Tom was off in the corner running on the treadmill, headphones in his ears and clearly in his own world. How had he been able to get up so early—and look so alert—after he had left with Libby? “Please tell me you got some last night.”

“Huh?” Chris asked.

“It’s just going to be a shame if not one of us got any when it looked so promising last night for each of us,” Hemsworth remarked. “Tom said he just went and did some gambling with Libby and she left for home.”

“Why?” 

Tom had noticed him and took his earphones out. “She has kids. Had to go home.”

“Really?” Chris asked.

“Yeah,” Tom said.

“And I went back to the room with my beautiful wife,” Hemsworth remarked, “and tried to put the moves on her since the nanny had the baby.”

“And Elsa shut you down, too?” Chris laughed.

“We got all ready for bed and I come into the bedroom and there’s El, passed out on the bed… with the breast pump still going,” Hemsworth said. “Seriously… I tell you, the kid’s totally cramping my style.”

Tom laughed. “Quit complaining, you. You’ve got a beautiful wife and beautiful daughter.”

Though Hemsworth agreed with Tom, all three of them looked at each other and nodded their heads at their plight. Chris chuckled and sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “I hate to say it, but I didn’t do any better.”

“What is this world coming to?!” Tom said exaggeratedly. “Captain America and Thor can’t even get a girl in bed.”

“I got a girl in bed,” Hemsworth defended. “Just not how I wanted her.”

Tom finished his run and got off the treadmill, taking a drink from the bottle of water he had with him. “I thought for sure you’d end up with Giuliana last night, Chris.”

“I thought so, too,” Chris replied.

“It’s why Libby and I wandered off… to give you two some time alone,” he replied.

“Right after you guys left she told me she was tired and was heading home,” Chris explained. “Granted, not before inviting me over to her place for dinner tonight, but she still left. I begged. Like I shit you not begged for her to come back with me to the hotel room. Maybe not one of my best moves…”

Hemsworth finished his repetitions and set the dumbbell down. He took a seat on one of the benches and looked at him. “So what’s the deal with her, anyway? You guys seem so close… but we haven’t heard much about her since we’ve known you.”

“We met in eighth grade, like she said last night,” he said. “We were instant friends. We had lots of classes together. She’s a whiz at math and helped me survive Algebra that year. I left a few weeks after we graduated high school for New York. She left Boston at the end of the summer for culinary school in Europe… and we fell out of touch. Our moms remained close, and a few years ago my mom slipped me G’s cell number and we reconnected like no time had passed. And then… and then there was last night.”

“I find it really hard to believe you haven’t seen a recent picture of her,” Tom added. “You were so dumbfounded by the fact that she wasn’t all in black. Don’t you guys like email or social network.”

“She has a Facebook, I do not. She doesn’t have Twitter, I do. We never sent photos via phone for one reason or another. I just never thought to get one from her,” Chris replied. “I knew what she looked like. I didn’t think anything could be that radical.”

Hemsworth chuckled. “Hey, at least she didn’t turn up as a man.”

Chris laughed at his friend. “You know, I had wondered if something like that wouldn’t happen.”

“Did you love her before or is it a new development?” Tom asked pointblank.

“I don’t know.” Chris shrugged. “I mean, she is one of my closest friends. That’s the problem I ran into last night. I made a move, but she ran like a scared deer. She thinks that I only want her now because of what she looks like.”

“Well, do you?” Hemsworth asked.

“No!” Chris said defensively. “Yes? I don’t know. It’s so fucking confusing. It shouldn’t be this confusing.”

“Women are strange creatures,” Tom replied. “They want you to simultaneously find them attractive and then they go and question the sincerity of your feelings. You know this is a no-win situation, right?”

“I do.”

Hemsworth sighed. “Do you just want the sex? There’s plenty of women who will do that for you.”

“No,” Chris replied. “I want a girlfriend.”

“Then,” Hemsworth said, “this is a piece of advice my dad gave me about El. Can you sit there and envision in a year or so loving her so much that you can’t live without her?”

Chris met his friend’s serious blue eyes. “I can’t live without her _now_ , even forgetting about the curve ball last night. I keep going back to her for support because she’s the constant who is so removed from Hollywood.”

Hemsworth smiled. “Then you know what to do.” 

“I guess so,” Chris said.

“Good,” Hemsworth replied. “Now get to work.”

“Do I have to?”

“If I have to suffer, you have to suffer,” Hemsworth said, pointing to the treadmills. “Get warmed up.”

“But I hate the treadmill.”

“Ten minutes,” Hemsworth said and went back to his lifting.

\----

“ _Puh-lease_ tell me you’re just being really diligent about your workouts and that you’re not here this early because you turned down that man!”

Giuliana started at the voice behind her and slowed her gliding on the elliptical. She turned to find Libby standing behind her with hands on her hips.

“Oh my god, you _did_ turn him down,” Libby said, tossing a hand towel over the display on the empty elliptical beside her. She climbed on the machine and plugged in her information on the display. “I have lost all faith in humanity.”

Giuliana sighed. “I chickened out. I was going to go with him… he kissed me and it was all over… but I got cold feet.”

“How the hell do you get cold feet when you have that piece of meat in front of you?!” Libby said.

“I have reasons,” Giuliana said.

“Giuli, when Captain freakin’ America wants you to go back to his hotel room, you go back to his fucking hotel room,” Libby said, perhaps a little too loud as people around them either looked their way in annoyance at the use of language or in vague interest.

“Would you please lower your voice?” Giuliana asked, smiling sheepishly at the people. “And he’s not his character.”

Libby laughed. “He might as well be. Character or not, any self respecting woman wouldn’t pass that up.”

“I didn’t pass it up,” Giuliana said. “At least not completely. I invited him over for dinner tonight. I just… I guess I just needed time to work through things before I took that step. I didn’t want to completely rush into it and it be a big mistake.”

“So you don’t think it’s a mistake?” Libby said.

“Why, do you?”

Libby sighed, suddenly very serious. “From what I saw last night, you two are perfect together. There’s no doubt that your personalities mesh well and that’s why you’re such good friends. But I worry about you and your issues. You wanted him to notice you in a sexual way and now that you’ve got his interest, you’re worried he doesn’t want to be with you for you. Girl, you’ve got to get your priorities straight.”

“I know I’m all kinds of fucked up,” she replied. “I liked him looking at me like that, but I don’t want him to only see me as that. I just wanted another layer of his interest.”

“I think this is going to come down to a trust issue for you,” Libby said. “You’re going to have to talk to him about this, and you’re going to have to trust what he tells you. I look at it like this… just because he now sees you as a viable sexable object doesn’t mean he’s suddenly stopped being your friend. He simply wants more. And that’s what you want, right?”

“Yeah,” Giuliana said. “But should I? If he wasn’t able to feel like this for me before, why should I give him the opportunity now? Shouldn’t I have some standards?”

“You said yourself it was almost thirteen years ago. People change. I know I’m completely different in how I handle and view men from when I was in high school to what I do now. I imagine it’s similar to him and girls,” Libby said.

“Yeah,” Giuliana said.

“You’re totally different people so you have to approach it like that,” Libby said in a final statement.

Giuliana nodded and concentrated on the time clock on the display in front of her for some time until she glanced back at Libby. “So how did it go with Tom last night?”

“Tom is awesome,” Libby said, “but we just did some gambling and went our separate ways. He would have been a fling and nothing more. It’s not healthy for me or for Aidan and Mackenzie. Besides, I'm not that ready to move on.”

“I understand,” Giuliana said. "Worth a try, though, huh?"

Libby chuckled. “Though Aidan would never believe it if I told him I went out with Thor, Loki and Captain America last night.”

“Did you bring them this morning or is Susie watching them at home?” Giuliana asked.

“They are in childcare,” Libby said, nodding in the direction of the kids’ area. “Why?”

“Do you want to be the coolest mom in the entire world?”

Libby looked at her seriously and lifted a perfectly arched brow. “What did you have in mind?”

“A barbeque,” Giuliana said. “With half of the Avengers.”

“Aidan would flip out.” Libby said. “But it will put a wrench in your dinner plans.”

“Ah, no,” Giuliana said. “I’m pushing everyone out the door by six so Chris and I can be alone.”

“That-a girl.”

Giuliana reached for her cell phone and sent a quickly text to Chris. “Small change of plans. How do you feel about barbeque @ 1? Libby, her kids and me… and anyone else you can wrangle up.”

The text was almost instantaneous.

_What about tonight?_

_Will make them leave by six_ , she replied.

_Then I’ll get you all alone?_

_Yeah, lots of surfaces to Christen in my house_. 

She couldn’t believe she had sent him that message. And likely, he couldn’t believe it either because it was a few long minutes before there was a response.

_Now I know you’re trying to kill me with a promise like that._

“What did he say?” Libby asked. 

“Nothing,” she replied.

Libby shook her head. “You’re completely red, and it’s not from your workout.”

Giuliana ignored her when another message popped up.

“They’re all coming,” Giuliana said.

 _Bring swim suits. Are there any food allergies?_ , she responded back.

 _No_.

_Do you still have my address?_

_How do you think I send flowers and cards to you?_

_Good point. See you at 1._

Giuliana stopped her machine and stepped off of it, looking at Libby. “I have to go to the grocery store and clean up the house. I’ll see you later.”

“Do you want me to bring anything?” she asked.

“Anything for the kids if they want something special, but I’ll get burgers or hot dogs for them,” Giuliana said, grabbing her things.

“Awesome, see you then.” Libby waved her off, but she was fully into her little work out world. Giuliana sighed and left the gym, creating a mental list of things she would have to get from the grocery. At least that would interrupt the ever pervasive thoughts flooding her head about just how this afternoon and then evening was going to go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos, the comments and reads! Just having a little fun with this and glad everyone is enjoying it. I do not know how many chapters this will be, but I may decide to extend it and make it a longer fluff romance if you're interested. ;-)
> 
> Enjoy this chapter as I work on the next one.

After running around the house for the past two hours cleaning and cooking, Giuliana was exhausted and ready for a nap, but she knew that would be impossible. Her guests would be arriving any minute now. Instead, she downed a sugary energy drink and prayed that it would take effect and sustain her until she could actually pass out much later. Much, much later.

She was in the midst of chopping carrots for a salad when the doorbell rang. For a brief moment, she froze in her spot to ask herself for the millionth time what exactly she was doing. The barbeque would just prolong the inevitable and it would be almost unbearable being around Chris knowing what was going through his mind. He wasn’t a shy one. He’d make it known in no uncertain terms that he wanted to get her alone even before everyone left. The terrifying part was that he actually would succeed in his quest and she didn’t know how she was going to handle it.

Of course, he was also respectful. So he would humor her playing hostess to his friends—friends whom she quite liked after their short evening together—and then after they left, she’d have no way to escape him. Not that she wanted to escape him. She was only nervous about being alone with him. Her muscles had been jittery and she felt on edge since that breath-stealing kiss last night. It had been awhile since she’d been with anyone, and this man was different. Very different.

The doorbell rang again and she shook her head clear of her thoughts, placing the knife in her hand on the cutting board. She made it to the door, seeing the group of people standing behind the fancy cut glass window. Sucking in one more breath to fortify herself, she pulled back the door. Chris stood at the head of the column, followed by the Hemsworths—who had little India covered in a carrier, and Tom in the rear.

“Hey guys!” she said. She stepped back and swept her arm to the side. “Come on in.”

“This house is awesome, G.” Chris looked around the foyer as he entered.

“Thanks,” she said. “Got a smoking deal on it when I moved out here because of the market…”

Elsa grinned at her as she stepped inside, kissing each of her cheeks in that thoroughly European way. “Thank you for having us! Chris and I were looking at each other in the hotel room trying to decide what we could do with a newborn in Las Vegas… and this was perfect. It’s like a vacation in a vacation.”

Giuliana laughed. “Well, I thought you might like some time to relax without having to worry about being ‘on’… I can only imagine what it’s like trying to go on vacation and having attention no matter what.”

Hemsworth nodded his head. “You have no idea.”

“Go ahead and make yourselves at home… there’s water and soda and adult beverages in the refrigerator out back, help yourselves to anything. You can use any room to change in.”

Tom was the last in the door and gave her a peck on the cheek before following the Hemsworths deeper inside the house. Giuliana turned to Chris, who hadn’t moved, wondering why he hadn’t hugged her or kissed her. But just as the question was on the tip of her tongue, he answered by pressing her back against the now closed door and crushing her lips against his. She was glad to have the support of the door behind her; her legs turned to jelly almost instantly. Her stomach flipped rapidly around in her belly as butterflies took flight, his lips sure and strong.

Reality began to sink back in, though, when she could not breathe. She pushed back on his chest and he separated from her, a goofy grin on his face. “You can’t do that,” she said, placing a hand on her chest to slow the heart trying to beat itself out of her chest.

“Why not?” he asked. “If you can send me saucy texts, I can do that.”

“Not when there’s company!” she said with a laugh, noticing Hemsworth walking by the entrance to the kitchen and shaking his head, a smile on his face.

Chris grinned. “Then don’t send me saucy texts that make my mind wander.”

“Whatever,” she laughed. “So I wanted to warn you that Libby’s son is really into the super heroes thing right now… and I don’t know how he’s going to react to you guys.”

Chris nodded. “How old is he?”

“He’s four and a half,” she said.

“Kids are cool,” Chris replied. “I’ll go warn the troops, though. So long as you didn’t invite the press core, we’ll be good.”

Giuliana laughed. “It might seem like the press core once he starts asking questions.”

Chris swooped in and pecked her lips again, as though he couldn’t get enough of it. “We’ve got it.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door behind her. Chris excused himself to head into the kitchen. Giuliana opened the door only to have Aidan run past her, wearing his Captain America swim trunks, a pair of cowboy boots, and a plastic Iron Man mask. He yelled, “Hey Auntie Giuli!” and ran into the kitchen, just like he always did when he was intent on getting out to the pool.

“Aidan! Get back here!” Libby called, clearly exhausted. “Are they here?”

“Mommy!” came the excited cry from the kitchen. It wasn’t one of pain or desperation, and the laugh that followed from the adults told them that he was fine. 

“Yes,” Giuliana said.

Libby rolled her eyes and readjusted little Mackenzie in her arms. The boy ran back out into the foyer. “Mommy! Come see who’s in the kitchen!”

“Who’s in the kitchen, Aidan?” Libby played along with him. Giuliana exchanged a look with her as they tried desperately to keep from laughing at his big eyes and the fact that he kept running back and forth trying to make sense of what his eyes were seeing.

“Come see!” he said, finally coming over to her and grabbing her hand.

“Do you want me to take Kenzie?” Giuliana asked.

“Would you?” Libby said with a chuckle, handing over the two year old.

Kenzie settled into Giuliana’s arms. “Hey pretty girl, what’s going on?”

Kenzie started off on a tangent of gibberish, interspersed with random words. There was something about her teddy bear and a potty, but not much else was distinguishable. Giuliana shut the front door and started back for the kitchen where everyone else stood around, looking on in amusement. Chris was down on his haunches talking with a very serious-looking Aidan. It was clear that Aidan only knew who he was because he was with Hemsworth and Tom; the shaved head and beard Chris currently sported didn’t lend itself to the clean cut Steve Rogers look. Still, the elation was evident on the boy’s face. And Chris seemed to be weaving a magic spell for the boy.

Elsa laughed at Aidan and turned slightly, catching a glimpse of them in the doorway, making her way around the kitchen island. “And who’s this?”

“This is Mackenzie,” Giuliana introduced. “Can you say hi to Elsa, Mackenzie?”

“Hewwo,” Mackenzie said bashfully, burrowing closer to her chest. 

“She looks just like Libby.”

“I know, she’s going to break hearts when she gets older,” Giuliana laughed. “As I know India will with you two as her parents.”

“Don’t even say it,” Hemsworth remarked. “I’m strictly anti-gun, but I’ve considered getting one just for the day she tries to bring a boy home.”

“Considering the fact that you look like you could snap a neck with your bare hands, you may do okay without the gun,” Giuliana said.

Mackenzie played the bashful baby a little longer, at least until she caught sight of the tall auburn haired man to their left. That was when she perked up. “Woki?”

“Oh, lord,” Giuliana laughed.

“Is Woki?” Her blonde pigtails bounced excitedly as she sat up.

“Libby, I think you’ve got problems,” Hemsworth replied. “She’s going for the dark side.”

Libby looked over to them. “She’s got her priorities straight.”

Tom laughed, clearly elated to have some attention. 

“Aunt Gooey,” Mackenzie said. “Down!”

Giuli looked at Tom. “If I set her down, she’s going to come to you. Can you handle it?”

“I think so,” Tom said with a grin. “I have a niece back home. Kids love me.”

Giuliana laughed and set the squirming toddler on the ground. Now that the ice had been broken and everyone seemed to be more at ease, she sighed. “Okay, I need everyone out of the kitchen so I can finish getting food ready. Please.”

“Do you need any help?” Elsa asked.

“Nah, I got it,” Giuliana said. “You go relax. Go swimming. My pool has been severely neglected this season.”

They didn’t seem to need any more inducement as people scattered to change and eventually to go outside to enjoy the nice summer day by the pool. Chris glanced in her direction before he stepped outside, a mischievous smile on his lips.

\----

Chris watched with interest as Giuli set out trays of finger foods on the table in the cabana by the pool, after which she then turned to Mackenzie who had wrapped tiny arms around her legs. As a teenager, he would have never pegged Giuli for this type of Suzie Homemaker person that was currently fussing over Mackenzie and her arm floats. It definitely made her completely sexy in a different way—a way he had not realized could be sexy until recently. He was just ashamed that he’d had to wait until now to notice the fact that his friend actually turned out to be the embodiment of his dream woman. Had he realized this years ago, it would have saved him quite a bit of torment and heartache with relationships and one night stands that never went anywhere.

She finished adjusting the float on Mackenzie’s left arm and the toddler went running, taking a flying leap into the water and nearly landing on Tom, who hadn’t wasted any time in changing and getting into the pool to relax. Mackenzie kicked and bobbed through the water; Tom took his child minder duty seriously as he played and laughed with the little girl. He’d make a good dad someday, though he knew that was the last thing on Tom’s mind at the moment.

It should have been the last thing on his _own_ mind at the moment, too. This was the worst possible time in his life to think about settling down and starting a family, but first Rob and Susan having a kid, and then Elsa and Chris having India had made him yearn for even a fraction of the joy they seemed to have. He wanted a family of his own to go home to; though he loved visiting his mom, dad, siblings and friends, he wanted something to call his own.

Now, however, life had taken a crazy turn with all of this Avengers stuff, and logic dictated that he shouldn’t even consider it. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t the thing he needed to keep him centered in a life that was about to get even more insane.

As he glanced back at Giuli, he couldn’t help but picture a life with her. It was strange how his mind—in the course of about fifteen hours—had come so far in trying to make sense of his feelings. He knew it was too fast, but he couldn’t help the utter feeling of contentment he had when considering it. It was nice to dream.

He sighed heavily to himself and took another drink from his beer as she sat down in the shade with Libby and Elsa. They were cooing over India and speaking in Spanish with each other. He hadn’t known Giuliana could speak it so fluently, but as she said in passing last night, it was a welcome side effect of working in the restaurant industry in the Southwest. It was also the one reason why Elsa had so easily taken a liking to her, which was great. If everything worked out as he hoped, Giuli would be around a lot and the girls would no doubt spend a lot of time together.

Hemsworth came from the house after having changed, carrying a towel over his shoulder and completely oblivious to the fact that all female attention had suddenly shifted to him. Giuliana was the first one to say anything, and Elsa burst out laughing, rambling in Spanish in reply.

“What are you three talking about?” Hemsworth asked his wife.

“Nothing, honey,” Elsa grinned like a Cheshire cat. Hemsworth flexed an arm in response, eliciting catcalls and whistles from them.

“You keep encouraging me, ladies,” Hemsworth laughed. “I can do it all night long.”

They waved him away and began speaking in rapid Spanish again. It made Chris wish he had paid attention to Spanish in high school, instead of staring longingly at Jennie across the room. But then he realized he didn’t want to know what Giuliana was saying about his friend. It would only make him feel jealous.

Luckily, Aidan kept him entertained playing basketball in the pool, so he couldn’t sit and brood over the fact that Giuliana wasn’t paying him any attention.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, just a thank you to everyone for your support! 
> 
> As a bit of a warning, this chapter is an explicit one, but I will not be changing the rating because the majority of the story isn't. Enjoy this one, though.

Giuliana looked over at the pool, watching the activity in it with half interest. She wanted to get in the cool water like nobody’s business with the temperature nearing 100 this afternoon, but she knew that would involve taking the sundress cover up off and allowing Chris to ogle her some more. It was still strange to look up and find him glancing back with the purely masculine sparkle of interest in his eyes and the wicked half smile that warned her of the thoughts going through his head.

There was something to be said for going zero to sixty, but this sudden change between them was zero to a hundred-twenty. Despite her conversation with Libby earlier at the gym, her mind was still playing catch up. Her body, however, was already there, waiting and wanting him to touch her again. She had about had it with the random glances in her direction and the soft caress of his eyes.

What was worse was that he knew exactly what he was doing and wasn’t ashamed about it.

In high school, she’d watched him as he’d bumbled along in his relationships, as teenagers always seemed to do. He’d been an overexcited pup, unskilled and childish. Perhaps it was worth it waiting until now to have his attention, because he had definitely learned a lot. Everything about him had changed. He was so self possessed. Dominant. He put on this dumb meatball, awe-shucks type of charm for the masses, but his gaze was deadly when it turned on her. It made her squirm in her seat and wish, only slightly, that she hadn’t suggested this party.

To escape his attention for a few minutes and attempt to think straight—not just about how much she wanted him to lay her out somewhere and have his way with her—she excused herself. She stepped inside the air conditioned house, goose bumps rising on her skin as she turned back to glance quickly at the pool. How was she ever going to survive this?

Giuliana sighed and moved over to the oven to check the ribs she had placed in there to cook. And then she fiddled around with the other things, doing some dishes, trying everything she could think of to take her mind off of Chris. She glanced through the window over the sink as she scrubbed a pan only to find the man in question rubbing a towel over his buzzed hair and wrapping it around his hips.

Hemsworth had been beautiful, but Chris was different in a rugged sort of way. He’d clearly lost a lot of his muscle bulk since he wasn’t due to film another Cap movie for awhile, but there was enough there to make her want to run her fingers along his skin, tracing the ridges and valleys of muscles over his arms, chest and stomach… and that incredibly dangerous cut of his hips. How did he even get those?

Giuliana licked her lips and felt a moan rise in her throat, but she swallowed it before she made any noise. With a chuckle and heated blush, she concentrated back on the pan in her hands. Her peace did not last long, though, when the door slid open and Chris stepped inside. She shut off the water and dried her hands as he joined her side.

A strong arm slipped around her waist and in the process turned her toward him. His skin was still cool and damp from his swim, but she didn’t care as his lips rested over hers. This wasn’t as demanding as the one earlier, merely careful and slow and one that definitely made every nerve ending tingle with anticipation.

She giggled against him as he pulled back. “What?” he asked.

“Where did you learn to be all… all…” she searched for the right word, “sexy?”

He grinned. “I’ve had some opportunity to practice.”

“Normally I would yell at you for being wanton, but I couldn’t care less right now,” she replied.

“You know when I’m in a relationship I am with that person completely,” he said. “It’s just those in between times that are questionable.”

“Obviously,” Giuliana laughed and kissed him lightly.

His lips curved against hers. “You need to come swimming.”

“Why?” she asked.

“You haven’t gotten wet at all,” he said. “It’s hot out there.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m wet.” Giuliana could barely believe the murmur had left her lips, but she wasn’t ashamed of it. Rather, she was proud of herself for being so forward with him. The reaction she received was well worth it. He did not appear surprised by the comment; he merely smiled the dangerously charming, slow smile once more. It completely disarmed her and allowed him the opportunity to pull her away from direct view of the window and press her back against the cupboards. 

He pushed one leg between her thighs, pinning her snuggly to the wooden cupboards with the weight of his body. She dropped her hands to the cold granite counter, gripping the edge to anchor herself in the rapidly spinning world. His mouth devoured hers, burning a trail across her jaw and down her neck, scratching her skin with the coarseness of his beard. A hand… oh, a glorious, sure hand gripped her right thigh and slowly—maddeningly—slid its way up, taking with it the hem of her sundress. His fingers clenched, dug into the flesh of her hip a second before she felt the tension of the string closure of her bikini bottoms loosen.

The moan she had swallowed earlier returned with a vengeance. It escaped her lips in a foreign sort of sound as his fingers dipped between her thighs, cupping her and pressing with the heel of his palm. Every nerve in her body suddenly crackled with excitement. She reached for him, clenching his arms and then his back, gripping for purchase as long fingers slipped further along her cleft. Like some tramp she shifted slightly to part her legs more.

“Mmm,” he murmured against her neck, “you _are_ wet.”

“We shouldn’t—,” she protested though it was halfhearted. She didn’t want him to stop the amazing way he dragged his thumb back and forth over her center.

In response, he covered her mouth with his, once more making her head swim with delirium. Her own hands explored further, but she paused when he shifted slightly, one finger and then another entering her. 

“Oh, god,” she called out, her back arching and tensing in pleasure. She could feel the pressure building in her belly, but she wanted more contact with him. She _needed_ more. With other parts of him.

Pushing him with a bit of force away from her, she struggled to orient herself as her mind stopped spinning. He was either surprised by her strength or from the action—probably a little of both—but he relaxed as she stepped over to him and clutched his right hand.

“Not here.” She led him to the tiny bathroom off the kitchen, pulled him inside and locked the door. The intensity of his gaze as she turned back at him was only eclipsed by the stupid grin on his lips.

“There are children close by,” she replied by way of further explanation.

He chuckled. It was low and deep in his chest. Completely masculine. “What are you gonna do when you have kids?”

“Install very good locks.” She reached out for him and grabbed his waist, tugging him closer. With a grin she stood on her toes and kissed him. She ended it with a nip to his lower lip. “And possibly sound proof the shit out of the bedroom. I can get pretty loud,” she added.

He grinned like a cat that got the cream. “I take that as a personal challenge.”

“Oh?” She grabbed the towel around his waist, tossing it aside. “You think you can make me scream?”

“I know I can,” he said.

“Such confidence,” she tsked and giggled.

He replied by pushing her back against the closed door. “How did you get to be such a sex kitten?” he asked lowly, kissing her deeply.

“Practice.”

He smirked at her mirror of his comment earlier. Both of his hands went to her hips, slipping beneath her dress and grabbing at the loosened bikini bottom. There was no pretense to the situation now. No teasing. He was a man on a mission, and the ripping sound of the still-tied side of her bikini was evidence of that.

“Hope you have a spare,” he remarked, tossing the black fabric to the side, completely forgotten.

She reached for the waist of his swim trunks. They were easy to push down over his impossibly tight rear, which clenched as she raked her nails over his skin and up his back. She did not scratch hard enough to leave a lasting mark knowing she wouldn’t be able to face the ridicule—albeit good-natured—that would come when they, unfortunately, had to go back outside. Her fingers then mapped a path down the front of his body, reaching for her goal.

“Fuck,” he gasped into her mouth as she circled her fingers around his girth and pumped. In response, he lifted her right leg to wrap around his hip and ground against her. His excitement was impressive without being daunting. Modest, but perfect. And, oh lord, did she want him inside her.

A large hand grabbed her wrist, staying her movements and lifted it above her head, pinning it to the door. It was then that his amazing lips abated their assault of her mouth and his eyes met hers. “Condom?”

“Shot,” she answered breathlessly.

“Sure?”

“Now’s a hell of a time—.” The words died on her lips when his hands grabbed and lifted her against the door. He pushed inside her, slowly at first, testing her. It was sweet torture until at last she had settled against him. 

“Oh good god.” It came out in a rush of air, but she could formulate no other words as the searing bliss that followed flooded every part of her body. They moved together, finding a rhythm despite her slight range of movement. He braced them against the door with one hand on her hip as a guide to their movements and her arms wrapped around his neck. His other hand slipped between them, his thumb finding her center and circling around it in hard, purposeful strokes with each pump of his hips.

She moaned against his mouth, teetering at the edge of climax. It came with one more circle of his thumb, and she pressed her head back against the door, clenching at his shoulders for relief from the exquisite ecstasy.

His lips, which had slipped down to her neck in response, stopped. She opened her eyes to peer at him. He stared back at her, from under long-lashed, heavy eyelids. It was only then that he joined her in release, his movements more erratic as he brushed his lips across her mouth, murmuring oaths she could not comprehend. He finally stilled against her, but did not move as they both came down from their highs. Not that she minded. She was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to stand on her own if he moved away.

At least not right away.

His weight felt good pinning her to the door, and as the world slowly began to still, she realized that she had never felt something like that before with another man. She only hoped that he felt the same about her compared to other women.

She pressed a kiss to his forehead as his own lips curved in a pleased, sated smile. Giuliana giggled girlishly as she took stock of the situation. She had pined for this moment for almost half her life—goodness, had it really been that long?—and it was everything she had imagined. With a contented sigh, she opened her mouth to tell him so, but was interrupted by another voice.

“Auntie Giuli!”

She froze. Chris tensed.

“Auntie Giuli, are you in there?” came the voice again with a knock on the door. The little boy giggled.

“Oh god,” Giuliana said. How long had he been there? How loud had she been? Had he heard? “Y-yes, Aidan, I’m in here.”

“Why are you in the bathroom?” he questioned.

“Because,” she said, pushing back on Chris as he attempted not to laugh.

“Because why?” Aidan asked.

Giuliana rolled her eyes and searched for her bikini bottom. It had hooked on the liquid soap dispenser. She grabbed it as Chris readjusted himself.

“Are you hiding?” Aidan asked again.

She glanced at Chris. “Yeah, Aidan, I am.”

“Oh,” he said. “Well, I have to go potty.”

Giuliana closed her eyes and shook her head. Fuck. “Okay, honey, hold on.” She turned to Chris. “You good?”

Chris nodded. The huge grin on his lips told her he was going to be amused by the situation no matter what.

How was she going to explain this without Aidan going straight to his mother? And why couldn’t he have just done his business in the pool like every other kid on the planet?

Giuliana smoothed her dress back down over her hips and took a breath before flipping the lock and opening the door. Aidan shot past her but came up short when he realized she wasn’t alone.

“Why are you in here, Chris?” he asked.

“I was helping Giuli find something,” Chris replied.

“Oh,” Aidan said and looked around. “What were ya lookin’ for?”

Chris’ laugh burst from his lips and he shook his head head. “Ask your Aunt Giuli.”

Giuliana fixed Chris with a murderous glare, but looked at Aidan. The kid asked way too many questions.

“It’s not important,” Giuliana said. “Go to the bathroom, Aidan, love. We’ll just be out here.”

“Okay,” Aidan said. “But did you find it?”

Giuliana looked at the four-year-old, and then briefly at Chris who could have also been four with the way he was handling the situation. Chris held up his hands innocently. “Did you find it?”

“Go potty, Aidan,” she instructed and pushed Chris out of the bathroom. She shut the door behind them and left Chris standing in the short hallway. She paused in the kitchen and shook her head. Everyone was still outside and the sliding glass door was wide open the way Aidan must have left it. She shut the door and spun around as Aidan ran out past Chris.

“Aidan!” she called to stop him.

He stopped. “What?”

“Did you flush?”

“Oh!” Aidan ran back and flushed the toilet. “Can I have an Otter Pop? Mommy said I could have one.”

Giuliana went to the freezer, grabbed one of the frozen treats and clipped the top off with scissors before handing it over to Aidan. Maybe it would keep his mouth busy long enough that he’d forget about this whole situation. Aidan looked at the ice pop and then back up at her.

“Aunt Giuli, your hair’s all messy,” Aidan said. As simply as that, he turned around and skipped toward the door. Chris was there to open the door for him.

“I love kids,” Chris remarked.

Giuliana rolled her eyes. “ _I_ am going up stairs and getting cleaned up. Please go back outside and quit distracting me while I have guests.”

“Giuli,” he said softly as she turned to leave.

“Hmm?” she asked.

“Did you find it?” he questioned. For just a moment, there was the tenderness, the sensitivity she equated with Chris. He was asking her this question on many different levels, but he quickly pulled the arrogant meatball mask back in place to hide his vulnerability.

She grinned. “I think I did.”

He nodded his head and ran a hand over his buzzed-cut head bashfully. The smile on his lips was infectious. “I’ll see you out there.”

“Yeah,” she replied, watching him step outside and shut the door.

Had she found _it_? At the moment, whatever _it_ was, she was sure of it. But she couldn’t let her thoughts distract her. She was messy and uncomfortable and needed to take care of business. With a sigh, she turned to go upstairs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

Chris was still desperately trying to wrap his mind around what had happened when, twenty minutes after he’d stepped back outside, Giuliana came sailing out of the house wearing nothing but a red, white and blue Stars-and-Stripes bikini. Seeing the very visible homage—whether she had purposefully chosen the bikini or not—him made him grin. That was until he actually took a moment to realize the scantiness of the fabric covering her.

He’d thought that what had happened in the bathroom would have at least taken the edge off of his discomfort when in actuality it had only served to intensify his want for her. And now he remembered the fact that there was still territory on her body that he had yet to fully explore. It made his fingers tingle with desire to touch. Before he could stop himself, he licked his lips and turned from her. He couldn’t stare or he’d make an even bigger fool of himself.

“Weren’t you wearing the black one?” Libby asked her. Giuliana tossed her beach towel over the back of a deck chair and grinned. She may have taken time to collect herself, but her cheeks were still flushed and her lips swollen. No doubt his beard had chafed her skin a bit, too, adding the pink glow. He pursed his lips together to keep from smiling and scratched his jaw as he recalled those sweet moments.

“I, uh, had a kitchen mishap,” Giuliana replied. “Barbeque sauce all over the place.”

“ _You_ had a kitchen mishap?” Libby was amused by the thought that Giuliana might mess up in the kitchen, but judging from her look Chris knew that Giuliana _never_ had a problem in the kitchen. He could believe it, too, knowing how well she could navigate a kitchen back in high school when he’d been her guinea pig.

Giuliana fixed her friend with a serious look. “Yeah, mishap.”

“Well, that bikini isn’t very subtle, now is it?” Libby laughed.

“Maybe I wear my heart on my sleeve,” Giuliana shrugged, grabbed a carrot stick from a tray on the table and bit into it.

“Or on your bikini,” Libby remarked with a shake of her head.

Chris watched as Giuliana grinned and walked to the edge of the pool, sticking her toe in the water before fully stepping down into the clear, calm water. She seemed much more confident now, more so than she’d been since they’d arrived. It had crossed his mind a few times that maybe she was nervous about undressing for him, but it was a relief to know that their interlude had loosened her up a little more.

He smiled to himself and relaxed back on the two-person lounge, enjoying the afternoon sun on his face. After everything, the little bit of alcohol, the pleasant ambient noise of people having fun, and being somewhat sexually sated, he started to doze off. It was a losing battle to stay awake until he felt the lounge cushion shift and a cool body lay out beside him.

“You’re going to get a sunburn if you fall asleep and don’t turn over.” Her voice was low and sweet in his ear, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. “You got the pasty Irish genes in your family.”

“I’m not _that_ pasty,” he replied, cracking an eye open to look at her. She was supported on one elbow as she looked down at him. He’d had a dream like this once; the woman had had an amazing body like Giuliana. Of course, his dream had turned explicit very quickly, and he wouldn’t have the luxury of that here with witnesses, but it made him smile. That woman had somewhat resembled Giuliana, though at the time he hadn’t realized it.

He lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side and pressing his lips to her temple. A sigh of contentment left her lips as she snuggled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. They lay half dozing for a while, and Chris was thankful for the fact that no one thought to interrupt them as shade slowly overtook their area. That was until he heard a string of beeps and rings coming from cell phones. He recognized his mother’s ringtone, but it was all the way across the deck on the table and he didn’t want to interrupt Giuliana’s relaxation.

But his phone wasn’t the only one going off.

Giuliana stirred beside him and lifted up, blinking a bit. “What’s going on? Is the apocalypse happening?”

Chris laughed. “I don’t know.”

“Someone is blowing up your phone, Giuli,” Libby called.

“It sounds important,” Hemsworth remarked.

Chris looked at his friend who was sitting at the table with everyone else, enjoying the snacks and drinks there.

“Unless the restaurant is on fire, I don’t care,” Giuliana said.

“It’s your Aunt Maria texting,” Libby said, waving the phone at them.

“What does she want?” Giuliana muttered.

Chris’ phone rang again, this time it was his sister’s ringtone. “I think we need to see what’s going on. That’s Carly, and the ring before that was my mom.”

“Is Boston falling off into the ocean?” she asked.

Chris laughed and waited for her to untangle herself from him and get up from the lounge. She walked over to the table and collected their phones, handing his phone to him as she sat back down Indian style on the lounge beside him. He watched her squint at the screen in confusion as his phone started ringing again. Now he was worried. Something terrible had to be happening to someone in either of their families if both of them were calling them like this.

He put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hi,” said the breathless voice on the other end.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s going on? Why is everyone—.”

“Is it true?” she asked. “Please tell me it’s true.”

He frowned. This wasn’t making any sense to him, but then he heard Giuli as she muttered, “Shit.”

“What’s true?” he asked.

“You and Giuliana,” his mother replied. “Is that really you two canoodling by the pool? Please say it is. Your old mother can’t take the let down.”

“How the hell do you know what we’re doing?” Chris asked.

“Tom DM’d me a photo on Twitter,” she replied.

“He what?” Chris asked, sitting up and turning to look at Tom. He was trying to look as innocent as possible, but he failed miserably.

“I tweeted him to see what he was up to, and he replied back that he was with you for your birthday. I told him to send photos,” she explained. “Are you and Giuli together? Finally? After all these years…”

“Finally? What? Mom…” he said. “Did you blast the photo to everyone in Boston?”

She scoffed. “What? I couldn’t keep the preciousness of you two napping all to myself. I had to at least let Fran know what was going on with her own daughter.”

“Mom!” Chris closed his eyes and counted to ten to rein in his annoyance. He was a momma’s boy, he’d freely admit that, but sometimes he just hated the meddling. This was beyond the fact that he and Giuli had hardly had any time to discuss where this relationship was going to go. Now everyone would be jumping to conclusions. Conclusions he wasn’t sure either of them were ready to entertain.

“What? You can’t blame me for being excited!” she said. “You know I’d love to have Giuli as my daughter-in-law.”

“Whoa… whoa… _whoa_ ,” he said, using his hands to talk though he knew his mother couldn’t see him. “We’re not getting married.”

Giuliana’s eyes darted to him and the others fell silent, clearly amused by the situation they were watching unfold. He cringed. “Not yet, at least.”

“Would you please put Giuli on the phone?” she asked, her impatience with him evident.

“God, fine.” He pulled the device away from his ear and held it out to Giuliana. “She wants to talk to you.”

Giuli looked at it with trepidation but sighed and took it. “Hi Mama Lisa… yes, he called the other day… I invited everyone over for… yeah, I’m cooking. Thank you, yes I spend a lot of time at the gym. Alright… We’re about to eat dinner… can we call you back later? Maybe we can Skype? Yeah? Okay.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at him.

“What did she say?” Chris asked.

“Your mom says she is pissed off that she had learn this from Tom,” she said, glancing at the man. “And that she thinks my bikini is cute, but _my_ mom thinks I need to cover up and leave a little mystery for you. We’re going to Skype with them later.”

“Why did you agree to that?” he asked. “They’re just going to badger us.”

Giuli laughed. “We can always turn the computer and phone off and ignore them.”

He paused. “Good point.”

She shook her head and scooted to the edge of the lounge and stood up. He watched her walk over to the table and point at Tom. “You are so in the doghouse right now.”

“What? Me? Why?” he asked.

“It’s like freaking Chernobyl on the East Coast right now,” Chris remarked. “You don’t understand… our parents have been trying to get us together since eighth grade. Seeing a picture like that is like dropping a huge bomb on them. A happy bomb, but you saw what happened.”

Tom grinned. “I’m sorry… your mother messaged. I had to comply.”

“And all of you… you let him do it!” Giuliana said. “I just… I can’t think right now. Dinner will be in a half hour or so if you want to start getting cleaned up and in the house.”

Chris watched her go, more interested in the way her hips moved than anything else. He tore his eyes away when Elsa and Libby stood up and began cleaning up, laughing as they did. 

\----

“Dinner was amazing,” Elsa said, hugging her close. “Next time, though, you have to come visit us and I will cook you a full Spanish meal.”

“I’m going to remember that,” Giuliana asked. 

Elsa laughed and stepped outside, following her husband who had already hugged her and said his farewells. Tom was the last to leave and he stopped in front of her, sticking his hands in his pockets looking like a sheepish boy. However, Giuliana was fully aware of the fact he wasn’t one iota penitent after what he’d done. 

“I’m sorry about all that. I didn’t know it would cause that much craziness,” he replied.

She grinned. “I’ve forgiven you already. You did most of the dishes.”

His shoulders sagged in relief. “Good. I didn’t want there to be any bad blood.”

“No bad blood,” she said. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Point taken,” he replied. The dark SUV waiting for him outside honked. Hemsworth stuck his head out the window to get him to hurry up.

“You better go. I think Hemsworth thinks he’s going to get some tonight,” Giuliana remarked.

“As long as he doesn’t go looking for it in the bathroom, we’ll be good, huh?” Tom asked.

Giuliana felt her face warm. She was going to kill Aidan for bringing that up as they were preparing for dinner and she had excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Tom laughed and grabbed her in his arms, kissing her cheek. “Thank you for being amazing. He needs someone like you with the madness that is this franchise and his life.”

“I know,” she replied.

The car honked again. 

“Alright,” he said. “Goodnight. I’ll see you on Wednesday?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Giuliana said, waving at him as he walked outside. She shut the door behind him and locked it, letting out a sigh. They had come as acquaintances, but she felt, as she watched them pull from the driveway, that they were truly leaving as friends. She loved the three people she had already met, and it lessened the worries she had about fitting into Chris’ life now. They were all as normal as anyone else, they only looked like the gods they played. 

However, it wasn’t necessarily these friends that would be difficult to fit in with. It would be his crew back home—the other group of friends he had retained since high school—that would be difficult to win over. They’d been terrible to her growing up, and she’d given back everything she got. She didn’t even want to think about that. There was a reason she hadn’t gone to the ten year reunion a few years ago.

She made her way back to the kitchen where Chris was dutifully finishing up with the dishes that Tom had not done. He saw her in the window and turned back to smile at her. “You could help, ya know.”

“Nope,” she said. “I’m enjoying the view from here.”

He laughed.

“You have the tightest ass,” she remarked. “I love it.”

He dropped the pan in his hands, clearly from the shock of hearing that come from her lips, but he recovered quickly and muttered something about the soap suds. She giggled and walked over to him, pressing herself against his back and wrapping arms around his front. The water was shut off as she kissed his t-shirt covered shoulder.

“I’ve really missed you, Chris… not in this new way. I’ve just missed you.”

He placed the last dish in the other side of the sink to air dry and turned in her arms. His strong arms encircled her and held her close. It was alarmingly comfortable be in his arms like this—she fit in the space perfectly. Words did not leave his mouth. They didn’t need to. Knowing how he was holding onto her for dear life was enough to ascertain how he felt.

It made her smile. 

“I’m not letting you go again,” he replied.

“You’re gonna have to let me. We can’t stay here all night.” Her joke was corny, but she heard him chuckle.

“No, I’m not letting you out of my life again,” he said. “There were so many years in there I could have used someone like you supporting me.”

She sighed. “We needed those years to get to this place, I think. We wouldn’t have realized what was important to us if we hadn’t had those experiences. You wouldn’t have ever been able to see me in a different light.”

“The only thing I see differently about you is that you are now a sexual being,” he replied. “Nothing else has changed. I still love you. You’re still my best friend.”

“I feels good to hear you say that,” she said.

He made a sound in his throat like he wanted to say something, but he checked himself. She looked up at him expectantly.

“What is it?”

Chris huffed. “I just… I don’t want to think you did all of this for me.” He motioned with his hands down her body.

“When I did it, I didn’t think I’d ever talk to you again, so no,” she said. “I did it for many different reasons. First, I needed a professional appearance working for Pierre Michel. Secondly, working in an elite kitchen is physically and mentally demanding—I started going to the gym and doing yoga when I took my first executive chef position in Chicago. When I moved out here, I met Libby and she became my unofficial trainer. And then… I wanted men to look at me differently. So it wasn’t you, it was men in general. I wanted men to feel they had to work to keep me, instead of treating me like shit because they thought I couldn’t do better.”

“You shouldn’t have had to change for men,” he said, brushing a curly tendril of hair back behind her ear. 

“I don’t think there’s any secret about them being douches in general,” she replied. “But men love with their eyes, unfortunately. You wouldn’t have thought about me this way if I didn’t show up to the bar like that yesterday.”

“G.” He met her eyes and held them. “Your body is spectacular. I’m not going to insult either of us by ignoring the fact that, yes, men do love with their eyes and I am attracted to it. But what really drew me in yesterday was your new confidence. That was the sexiest part of all the changes I saw. And you looked happy… you weren’t happy in high school. You wore layer after layer of armor to keep people away—even me to some degree—during all that time.”

“I am happy,” she said.

Chris grinned and kissed her mouth lightly. “Giuliana, I have loved you since eighth grade, I just never considered the fact that you’d give up the armor in favor of normal makeup and feminine clothes. That was the last piece of the puzzle for me. And now I understand… I can see it clearly. I see _you_ clearly.”

She nodded. “I’m glad your mom convinced you to call me a few years ago.”

“So am I,” he replied. 

Giuliana rested her head against his chest again, and she could feel his lips in her hair as he held her to him. The sex had been amazing earlier, but there was just something about being held in the safe confines of his arms. They were strong and protective. What was more, there were years of history between them that brought with the physical an emotional connection she had not had with any other man she’d shared such an embrace with. Of course, those arms hadn’t been nearly as comfortable, either, so she hadn't done much of it.

The quiet moment was obliterated when a piercing cell phone ring filled the kitchen. Chris groaned. “My mother is diabolical.”

“Ignore it,” she said.

“But…” 

“Turn the phone off and come upstairs with me,” she said. “I didn’t give you the tour earlier…”

He raised a brow at her. “Will this tour conclude in an extensive lecture in your bed?”

“I could be persuaded.” She shrugged and pulled away from him. He dutifully walked to the counter, turned off his cell phone and rejoined her side.

Chris took a hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. “Give me the tour.”

Giuliana laughed and pulled him along toward the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all, once again, for the support! Enjoy!

Chris came awake slowly the following morning, desperately trying to cling to the last moments of sleep. He felt like his body had been through the wringer and he expected it to be accompanied by a terrible headache from a hangover due to the loss of endorphins no longer coursing through his body. Was it possible to get a hangover from too much sex? If so, what had happened last night was surely a good test of the question. After all, they’d experimented with the hypothesis at length and in multiple trials.

He grinned to himself and buried deeper in the comfortable, soft bedcovers of the large bed, reaching out for the woman who had last fallen into a deep sleep beside him. His hands, however, grasped at thin air and cold sheets. Opening an eye, he found that he was indeed alone in bed. He had hoped to extend the dream he’d stepped into yesterday, but this confirmed the fact that it was back to real life with the new day.

The sound of a shower shutting off in the background drew his attention, making him relax a little bit more knowing that she hadn’t left him there. Not that he expected her to leave—after their conversation last night he was fairly certain about how this was going to work out between them, but there was always a chance she could suddenly wake up and realize she could do so much better.

Steam rolled out of the bathroom when the door opened, revealing his lover wearing nothing but a short terrycloth towel wrapped around her and one wrapped in her hair. Her skin was still damp from the shower and the scent of flowers and fruit filled his senses, driving him crazy. It was her smell and it was intoxicating in such a concentrated dose. She glanced toward the bed and grinned when she noticed that he was awake.

She crawled onto the bed and leaned over him. Her kiss was soft and slow as he grabbed her hips and rolled them over to pin her on the bed. Giuliana wrapped her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss and continued the trail south to grasp her bare thigh. It was only then that she grabbed for his hand to stop him and backed away from his kiss.

“I can’t,” she said. “I have to finish getting ready for work.”

“Then you shouldn’t have gotten back into bed,” he remarked, attacking her neck with his mouth.

She laughed and pushed him off, scooting out from under him to the edge of the bed. He would have been lying if he said he wasn’t a little disgruntled by the fact that she had done it, but he could tell from the look she gave him that all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and never leave.

“I can’t believe you can even think about it. I am utterly exhausted.” She walked to her dresser and reached into a top drawer, withdrawing very tiny black underwear. After shimmying into them, she tossed the towel away and paired the underwear with a matching lacy bra.

“I can’t believe you’re going to tease me by wearing that and then expect me to let you walk out of the house wearing it,” he said.

Giuliana looked down at herself. “These aren’t even that bad. I have sluttier lingerie.”

He might have swallowed his tongue if he wasn’t careful. Everything about this new Giuliana surprised him, so he knew this shouldn’t surprise him, but it was still shocking. And tantalizing. Yes, he couldn’t forget tantalizing.

“So you’re exhausted?” he asked.

She chuckled. “We didn’t sleep much.”

“No, no we didn’t,” he replied, leaning back on the bed and resting his arms behind his head. And still all those times he’d had her last night hadn’t been nearly enough to curb his appetite.

She walked into the closet and appeared wearing a white tank top. In her hands were a pair of black and white striped pants and a white chef’s coat. She took them to the ironing board on the far side of the room where she plugged in the iron to heat up and then came back to sit with him. He knew he had to content himself with sitting with her for this short time, but it was difficult to keep his hands—relatively—to himself. He _did_ wrap his arms around her as she crawled onto the bed beside him and let out a tired yawn.

“Are you sure you can’t call in sick?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” she said. “It’s the first day of the week, so I have ordering and inventory this morning and then a staff meeting later.”

“How many hours do you actually work a day?”

She shrugged. “It depends. Usually twelve-hour days, sometimes more, sometimes less. I run the back of house operations, so I have to be there. Libby, as general manager, is front of house—we both work long days.”

“How does she do it with the kids?” he asked.

“Like any other working parent,” she said. “She stays with them until one in the afternoon and then her mother-in-law or a nanny takes over from then until she gets home.”

“She was married?”

Giuliana nodded. “Her husband was in the Air Force and he was stationed at Nellis, so that’s why she’s here. He died a few years ago in Iraq.”

Chris listened to her and let the words internalize. Now that his brain was on kids, he couldn’t help but let it wander to his own hypothetical kids and how it would work with him being gone so much. If Giuliana were potentially the mother of these children, they’d have even less time with one parent or both. He’d sworn to himself that he wouldn’t be one of those celebrities with five nannies and have very little interaction with his children, but theoretically speaking, it seemed like that would be the only option.

“How are we ever going to have kids?” he asked. “Working twelve hour days and then me on location…”

He stopped himself and his face grew warm. He hadn’t intended to say anything aloud. They’d only just become a couple and here he was messing up the blissfulness of the past twenty-four hours by getting too serious too fast. It was, perhaps, his one major downfall in life. But then he reminded himself that he wasn’t in this for a fling. He had made the decision a while ago to try to find someone he _knew_ he would spend the rest of his life with—not someone he would _try_ on for size and see if it worked out.

Giuliana leaned over to kiss him lightly, a grin curving her lips. “If we get to that point, we’ll figure it out then.”

“Well, what about in general?” he asked. “My home base is in Boston, you’re in Las Vegas. You get one day off a week. How will this relationship work?”

“Chris, we’re not getting married right now,” she said.

“Well, what if I wanted to?” he asked.

“Then I’d probably move back to Boston,” she replied. “Believe it or not, there _are_ restaurants there, too. I’m never not going to be able to find work. And if and when the time came that we wanted kids, we could discuss it then.”

Silence spread between them. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but there was a lot that neither of them were quite willing to say. He only hoped that what she wasn’t willing to say was also what he wasn’t willing to say. Logically, he knew taking these jumps so soon was foolish—but it felt right. Thinking about marriage and kids with other women in context had never seemed so natural, nor did it seem as right as it did with Giuliana.

As it was, they’d been in a relationship for years, especially if he counted that time in high school. Their time together in the past hadn’t had an ulterior motive. Maybe that’s what made his connection with her deeper than all the rest. None of the constraints of meeting someone, wooing them on dates, and all the other shit that went into a romantic relationship were there. They knew each other without trying to be something they weren’t. They cared for each other without any pretense and they both knew what they were and what they weren’t. It was amazing.

“You do want kids, don’t you?” he asked.

She laughed. “Yeah.”

“How many?”

“Two,” she said, “but I will revisit that after the second one.”

Chris smiled.

Silence again, but then Giuliana laughed. “Can you imagine if we actually got married? All the craziness that would ensue? It’ll be My Big Fat Italian and Irish Wedding.”

He chuckled. “We could just elope.”

“That would be simpler. Cheaper. And then no one could butt into the planning,” she replied matter-of-factly, as though she were mulling it over in her head.

“You know what? We _should_ just get married.” The words flew out of his mouth before he had time to stop them. “We’re in Las Vegas. It would be so easy.”

“Are you kidding me?! We can’t elope!” she exclaimed and sat back from him. He thought for just a minute that she was truly angry with him, but her reaction wasn’t from his suggesting they get married. It was because he wanted to elope. “My mother would _kill_ me. She has been planning my wedding since I was born. I do not want to be guilted about eloping for the rest of my life… and then your mother and sisters… let’s not even get started on them.”

“But you just said—,” he started.

“We’re not eloping,” she replied.

“So you’re not saying ‘no’ to marriage, just to eloping?” he asked.

Giuliana paused when realization dawned on her. “Oh, I didn’t think…”

“You want a big white wedding?”

“Yes,” she said. “But I really hope your real proposal is better than this one, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

Chris laughed and opened his mouth, but she placed her hand on his lips to stop the words from being voiced.

“No, not yet. Don’t even think about it.” She was serious, that much Chris could tell. It was an impulsive action on his part to even attempt to ask her, but it was the best idea he’d had in the longest time.

“But I love you,” he replied.

Giuliana held his gaze. “I love you, too. But I can't marry you... not right now. We need time to get into the groove of being romantically involved. Even if you’re halfway across the world to film for the next month, it will still be different between us.”

“Okay, then when I get back. We’ll talk about it then,” he said.

“I’ll look forward to it.” With one more kiss on his lips, she left the bed and walked to the ironing board to work on her uniform.

“So are we going to do anything tonight?” he asked.

Giuliana pulled on her pants and sighed. “I’m open after midnight. What do you want to do?”

“Well, I know what I’d _like_ to do,” he said, climbing out of bed and walking over to her. He grabbed her in his arms and kissed her.

She stepped back from him. “Please put clothes on. You’re distracting me.”

He pouted.

“Chris, I’m serious,” she said.

He looked around for something to cover himself and grabbed the damp towel hanging on the corner of the dresser.

“That so doesn’t count.” She giggled and turned back to finished her coat. She slipped her coat on and buttoned it, shaking her head as she looked at him again. “That should just be criminal.”

“What should be?” he asked.

“You,” she replied.

Chris pumped up his chest.

“It’s even better in person,” she said, stopped before him and rose on her toes to reach his lips.

“Tonight?” he asked.

“Don’t you want to go out and do guy things with your friends in Vegas?”

He shrugged. “I _could_ waste money, get drunk, or go see a show with naked women.”

“There are so many other things that you _could_ do,” she laughed. “Go out with your friends. I will see you on Wednesday. I seriously need a night to recoup after last night and this morning.”

“I’ll go out with them if you come hang out with me in my hotel room after you get off work,” he said. “We can catch a movie… order room service… and just hang out. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“Famous last words.”

“Scouts honor.” He held up three fingers.

She laughed. “Okay. Where are you staying?”

“Planet Hollywood.”

“I’ll call you and let you know when I’m on my way,” she said.

He grinned. “And I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

She kissed him again. “Feel free to stay as long as you want. There’s a key under the boulder by the front door when you leave.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

She disappeared into the bathroom to finish getting ready, leaving him alone and looking around the room for his own underwear.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Unfortunately, the events that transpire in the next few chapters have some similarities with a current problem Chris and his family are facing on Twitter. However, this story is fiction. Just keep that in mind going forward.

Chapter 9

Giuliana knew she would be late to work the minute she woke up this morning. Her entire body ached after last night, and though a pleasant ache, she was slow moving and unwilling to hurry into work. It had been exceptionally difficult to leave such a warm embrace, and equally difficult to leave a half dressed man who had tried everything in his arsenal to get her back out of her clothes. 

Still, she hadn’t planned to be _this_ late. Of course it would be her luck that traffic would be more terrible than usual on the Strip. And then her key card hadn’t worked to get into the building and she’d had to get that handled by security. This morning just seemed like a calamity of errors. Perhaps she should have just stayed in bed after all.

She hated people who weren’t punctual. It was why she tried to be early everywhere she went, and this job was no exception. As executive chef, she had an example to set and showing up an hour late to work wasn’t doing anyone any favors.

She stepped in the back service entrance to the restaurant that led into storage. As she moved past the kitchen, she heard a chorus of “Good morning, Chef.” Pausing briefly, she ascertained that everyone was accounted for and they had begun prep for service to begin in a few hours.

Giuliana sighed when Libby appeared in the hall. “Hi, hi… Sorry, I know I’m late.”

“I was just getting ready to call you,” she said. Her tone was serious, but friendly. Still, it made Giuliana stop and look at her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Libby’s lips pressed into a firm like. “Steve Wynn is in your office.”

“What?” Her stomach fell to her feet and her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. Of all the days she had to be late, the CEO of the damn hotel had to come to her office. For what purpose, she could only imagine, but none of the reasons were ones that boded well for her. If some issue had to be dealt with, the general manager or COO who were onsite would have handled it. Having a visit from Mr. Wynn himself was not good. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Libby replied. “He didn’t say.”

“How long has he been in there?”

“Fifteen minutes,” she said. “I’ve been entertaining him. He’s been asking me questions about you.”

“About me?”

“Personal questions,” Libby said. “Job related questions. It’s very prying and not the Steve Wynn I know.”

Giuliana frowned. “Well, thanks for warning me.”

Libby nodded. “I’ll be out front when you’re done.”

With a deep breath, Giuliana continued past Libby, turned around the corner and stepped into her office. He was sitting behind the desk in her chair talking on his cell. When he noticed her, he quickly ended his call and sat up straighter. Giuliana dropped her things in one of the chairs facing the desk.

“Mr. Wynn!” she said, offering her hand to him

He shook it and smiled, motioned to the empty chair.

“How can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m just back from Santa Monica visiting my daughters, and taking a look around,” he said. “You know how I like to inspect things myself.”

Giuliana swallowed and ran through a list of possible issues he could have come to her with rather than going through his management, who would then contact Michel, who would send her an email to address.

“Yes, of course,” she said. “It’s just a surprise, that’s all. We hardly see you.”

“Oh, I know, it’s because Michel runs such a tight ship,” he said.

Giuliana nodded. No, she ran that ship, not Michel. Michel merely had his money, recipes and name involved in this operation. It was the team she had that made it one of the top restaurants in the city.

“I came on a more personal errand,” he said.

“O-okay…” She didn’t know how to take it.

“You don’t have any side businesses that would conflict with the image of Wynn Resorts, do you?” he asked.

Of all the things she could have prepared for, that wasn’t one of them. “Excuse me, sir?”

He busied himself by clicking through his cell phone. He finally looked up and turned the phone screen to her. Centered on the large screen was the picture of her and Chris out at the pool the previous day. It looked more suggestive in the harsh light of the day than it had last night; instead of just two people laying and snoozing together, she had a thigh thrown over his legs and a hand possessively splayed on his chest.

“I’m going to kill Tom,” she said.

“What really concerns me,” he said, “is this second picture.”

He moved to another. It was her and Chris at the bar Sunday night, in the midst of their kiss. They were wrapped around each other and looked to be much more than a kiss. There was yet another where they were talking afterward, but hadn’t unwrapped themselves from each other. One of Chris’ large hands rested on her thigh, his fingertips shoved just under the hem of her skirt.

“It was taken inside one of our lounges,” he said. “And it was reported that you were there as an escort.”

She spluttered. “A what?”

“An escort,” he repeated.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. Dumbfounded didn’t even begin to describe the feeling she had at the moment. She couldn’t think straight. Words were difficult to form. Clearly someone else had taken pictures of them—not just Tom—but the fact of the matter was that the world obviously knew about her now. And with it, came some very nasty rumors.

“Are you working as an escort in this hotel?” he asked. He was deadly serious as he had every right to be; in addition to her being a prominent chef in a popular restaurant, it would look bad for Wynn since such a venture was illegal.

But that knowledge didn’t stop the uncomfortable, madwoman laugh that escaped her mouth. What was worse, she couldn’t stop it. All this was just so ludicrous. It took her a few moments to gather herself. Wiping at her eyes, she looked across the desk at him. “It’s completely and utterly absurd, Mr. Wynn. I would never… how do they even know my name? Chris is in town for his birthday.”

He visibly relaxed. “I knew it had to be a rumor and nothing more. I treat these cases very seriously.”

“Mr. Wynn, I can assure you that I am not running an escort business,” she said. “Chris is my best friend—” He raised a skeptical brow at her. “No, I guess he’s now my boyfriend.”

Saying it made her smile and blush. Somehow the words said aloud to other people made it feel more official than it did talking with Chris in private. She looked at the ground and felt the warmth of a blush on her cheeks.

“I’m glad I don’t have to take action,” he said. “When our social media guru called and said that things had been circulating about the Wynn, we took a closer look and were very surprised by what we found.”

“I’m sorry if it caused you any grief, sir,” she replied. “I-I didn’t know my photo would be splashed across Twitter like that. It was a message that was supposed to remain private.”

Steve stood from his seat and buttoned his suit coat. He waved his hand. “C’est la vie, I always say. Just be careful next time.”

“I will make sure to ban all of my friends from taking suggestive photos,” she said. “I guarantee you that.”

He nodded his head and offered his hand to her again. “Keep up the good work, Ms. DeMarco. I hear good things about the restaurant.”

“Thank you, sir,” she replied. He left with little more pomp and circumstance. Giuliana stood in the middle of her office, staring at the muted gray tile pattern on the floor. It just… it just didn’t make sense to her. How did people think she was an escort?

A soft knock on the open door behind her made her turn. Libby stood there holding her leather bound notebook and cell phone.

“I have more bad news,” she said.

“Trust me, whatever you can tell me isn’t going to trump the shit storm I’m currently in,” Giuliana said.

Libby frowned. “What is _your_ bad news?”

“People think I’m a whore who is corrupting Captain America,” she replied.

Libby’s face turned into an expression of shock. “What?!”

“Somehow our little picture by the pool yesterday was leaked,” she said. “And someone else took bad cell phone pictures of us at the bar Sunday—just Chris and me—and started a rumor circulating that I was an escort. Do I look like a hooker?”

Libby looked at her objectively for a minute and shrugged. “Well, you _do_ have a bangin’ body. You’d make a lot of dough if you decided to do it, but you’d be high class.”

“Libby! Be serious for one minute,” Giuliana said exasperatedly as she fell back into her chair behind her desk. It was still warm from her unexpected guest. “This isn’t good.”

“It’s not really bad, either,” she said. “At least you have your claim staked on him now.”

“But only if he pays me enough," she mused. Giuliana reached into her purse for her cell phone. She hadn’t turned it on since last night.

Libby chuckled. “Was the sex worth it at least?”

Giuliana looked up at her as the phone turned on and cycled through the programs. “What do you think?”

Her friend squeaked and did a little dance. “I’m so happy for you that I’m not even going to complain about how late you were today.”

“Gee, thanks.” Giuliana rolled her eyes. Notification ringtones started going off on her phone. After what seemed like a million text messages and email messages later, she clicked over to the text message program. There were the expected text messages from mothers who were angry that they hadn’t called them back, a few from some of the other family members, and the last was from Chris. 

_Call me as soon as you can._ She could just hear the edge of annoyance in his voice.

Giuliana looked up at Libby as she switched to the email screen. “So what was your bad news?”

“Oh!” Libby said. “Michel is coming in tomorrow.”

Giuliana jerked her head up. “What?! Oh, this is _way_ worse.”

Libby nodded. “It’s not because of the pictures, though… just so you know.”

“Well, that does make me feel a little better, if only marginally,” she said. “But tomorrow night is Chris’ party. You know how Michel is when he’s here. I’m not going to get out until at least one.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Libby said. “You are going to that party. Wearing that red dress you bought for the Christmas party but never wore.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I don’t know what screams ‘harlot’ more than that red dress,” she replied.

“You be quiet. And then you’re going to wear those black fuck-me heels—those black Louboutins I gave you for your birthday. Oh, and bright red lipstick,” Libby said. 

Giuliana shook her head. “Why don’t we just paint a sign on me? ‘Look! This is the chick that screwed your golden boy!’ Do you know the therapy my mom will need after she sees me in that getup? There will be photographers there.”

“My point exactly.” Libby nodded. 

“This is the exact opposite of being careful.”

“Honey, if they’ve already written the stories, you might as well have a good time with it.”

Strangely, Libby made a lot of sense. There was no reason she should hide behind Chris. She wasn’t that girl any more... the one who was afraid of her own shadow.

Giuliana sighed and looked at her phone again. “What the fuck?!”

“Huh?” Libby asked.

“I have 243 new Facebook notifications.”

Libby laughed. “It does seem a little high.”

“Get out of my office,” Giuliana said and pointed to the door. “I have work to do.”

Libby laughed and walked out the door. Giuliana looked at her phone again, and knew she should call Chris, but a pile of paperwork was staring at her. She sent him a quick text.

_We’ll talk about it tonight._

_You know what happened?_

_Yeah. I really have to work. We’ll talk later. Same plans._

When he didn’t reply back, she put her phone away and went to work. But even though she tried to fully immerse herself in the activity, her brain wasn’t there. Instead, it was busy trying to figure out how all this happened. She didn’t even know the full story, for which she was sure Chris was well versed by now, but it still weighed on her mind. It was new territory to her in addition to everything else going on… and it made her head spin. She just had to hold on.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many thanks to all of you for sticking around and reading! Enjoy this one! I'm loving the comments and kudos--thanks!

Words couldn’t possibly express how distraught he’d felt all day after learning about the publicity nightmare that had ensued while they’d been asleep. Honestly, he couldn’t even believe it had happened, much less that _he,_ of all people, had to deal with it.

In his mind, he still wanted to be the small time actor who occasionally did bigger roles, but whose fans were generally respectful and paparazzi didn’t annoy him too profoundly. He hadn’t wanted to sign onto this franchise for that very reason. He knew he’d lose a good measure of his anonymity by doing it. However, after the modest attention he’d received from the first movie, he thought he’d be over the hump and able to enjoy a moderately sane life. This sudden explosion of interest in him and his personal life confirmed the fact that he was much more popular than he originally thought. Much, much more.

And then on top of it all, he’d dragged Giulianna into it. She was the last person who deserved this kind of attention—especially negative attention—just for dating him. It wasn’t fair to her. He could only imagine what she was going to say to him tonight. From the tone of her texts earlier, his mind had gone through every possible outcome and each one ended with her saying she couldn’t do this with him. The thought that this one chance at happiness could be so fleeting angered him and scared him.

So it was with a heavy heart he trudged down to the lobby of his hotel that night to wait for her to arrive. Some fans had located them at the hotel, though that was more due to the fact the Robert had come with an entourage and caused a scene this afternoon when checking in, than it was because of the rumor mill. Word spread fast, even in Las Vegas, and both Hemsworth and Tom had mentioned being stopped for pictures and autographs this afternoon while out and about. He’d been so angry with Tom for the picture, but he knew it wasn’t his fault. It was a friend of the family who had accidentally made a public tweet with the picture. And then the other ones—the ones from the bar—were from some unknown source. Knowing that someone was watching him without his knowledge made his skin crawl.

He pulled his baseball cap lower over his eyes as he came out onto the main level and moved through the casino to the front lobby. Instead of standing like a dork in the lobby, he continued out to the curb where he found an empty bench to sit on. He grumbled impatiently. It seemed like she was taking forever, but he had to remind himself she said it would be about a half hour, and he’d only waited fifteen in his room. The anticipation had nearly killed him.

He watched the valets working, taking cars away and bringing them back, and eventually fell into the rhythm that took his mind off his current troubles. Finally, he noticed her in the windshield of her dark blue Passat, and stood up from his seat as she pulled to a stop on the other side of the median. She stepped out of the car with the help of the valet. With a laugh and a smile, she took the claim ticket from him and grabbed her bag from the backseat.

She seemed to be in better spirits than he thought she’d be, and when she turned and spotted him, her smile only widened. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. When she finally reached his side of the entrance, she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Hi!” she said.

“Hey,” he replied. “You seem happy.”

She giggled. “I’m a night person. My second wind hasn’t worn off yet.”

“Even though I kept you up all night?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m existing on caffeine and energy drinks alone,” she said. “Had a double shot of espresso a few hours ago.”

Chris laughed and shook his head. “You want to go up?”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed her hand, leading her back on the path he’d come. The elevator ride up to his floor was silent, but only because a group of people had boarded the vehicle with them. When he finally closed the door in his room, he watched her as she spun around.

“What?” he asked.

“You could have requested a penthouse since you are here as their guest,” she said. “And you chose one of the small suites.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t really need a lot of space.”

Giuliana grinned and tossed her bag on the chair beside her. “And that’s why I love you.”

“Thanks…” he frowned. “I think.”

“It’s a good thing.” She giggled and looked at him again. “Do you mind if I get cleaned up? I smell like onions, garlic and sweat.”

He hadn’t noticed it at all, but it made him laugh. She pushed past him and stepped into the marble encrusted bathroom where she stood with her hands on her hips assessing the bath and shower. After a moment she turned, and in the process encircled her arms around his body.

“Care to join me?” Her words were quiet and seductive as she pressed her lips to his. A shiver of pleasure ran through him. She moved away just as quickly and walked to her bag where she withdrew a hairbrush, ran it through her hair and started unbuttoning her coat. It was only when the large two person bath was filling and she had disrobed down to the same black lingerie that had tempted him earlier that he was able to pull himself out of his stupor.

“Wait!” he called as she reached for the hooks on the back of her bra.

She froze and turned to him, confusion etching her face. “Huh?”

He grinned. “Let me.”

“You’ve been thinking about it all day, haven’t you?” she asked.

Chris sighed.

“Uh-oh. That wasn’t a happy sigh,” she said.

“I wish this was what occupied my thoughts all day.” He slid his fingers up the length of her back, which drew a shiver from her, and slipped beneath the back of her bra at the clasp. “It all started so promising this morning, too.”

“What _did_ you think about?”

He undid the clasps, sweeping the straps off her shoulders in a fluid movement that left the fabric on the tiled floor and his arms holding her back against his chest. She giggled and turned her head slightly in an effort to look at him, but she couldn’t.

“The bathtub is going to overflow if you don’t let me go,” she remarked.

Chris glanced at it and let her go. She shut the water off, turning back to look at him. “Are you going to come in?”

“Yeah.”

While she tied her hair back he quickly tore his clothes off and climbed into the nearly scalding water. The sting felt good on his skin, but not as good as Giuliana felt sinking into the bubbly water and resting back against him. He wrapped his arms around her torso to press her body to him and she entwined her legs with his to keep from sliding down.

They sat comfortably for many long minutes, luxuriating in the stillness and quiet of the bathroom. The only sound was that of the occasional droplet of water falling from the bath faucet. And it was only then that Chris realized his mind had gone quiet as well. He wasn’t back in his head trying to pick everything apart and working overtime to keep his anxiety level at bay. It was a miracle, because even his mother had been unsuccessful in the past at trying to quell the problems. He’d visited monks to learn how to meditate his mind into silence. He’d even visited a psychologist to help him get through the constant chatter of fear and anxiety in his head. None of them had delivered a peace as serene as this.

After a few more minutes, she yawned and rested her hands over his. “So, are you going to tell me why you’re unhappy?”

“Oh,” he said. “Because of what happened with the pictures.”

“What did happen? All I know is that Steve Wynn showed up in my office asking me if I was conducting an escort business out of his hotel,” she said.

He set his jaw. Perhaps what had pissed him off the most about the nastiness he had encountered from a good number of the people who were tweeting him about it was that they had focused their rage on Giuliana. Girls were catty and fickle, and his female fans were no different.

“One of my cousins tweeted my uncle’s public account by accident,” he said. “With your name.”

“Please tell me it wasn’t Uncle Mike,” she replied.

His silence was enough of an answer.

“Oh, great,” she replied.

“His aides caught it and deleted it, but not before it was too late. And you know how things spread on the Internet.”

She laughed. “Especially when they’re posted to the Twitter of a congressman.”

“TMZ apparently picked it up and whoever took those other pictures in the bar added their story to the mix, and thus the rumor monster was born.”

“Damn,” she said.

Chris nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she replied. “I knew the risks going in, Chris. I don’t like the attention—especially this attention—but it’s one of those things I am willing to deal with to be with you.”

“Really?” He hadn’t intended it to sound so insecure, but that’s what it was and was probably the most truthful emotion he’d had all day.

Giuliana sat up and easily turned herself around to face him. She straddled his legs and sat back on his thighs carefully. “I know you don’t like the intrusion in your life because you feel like it stifles who you really are. Like you have to play a part all the time. I know that. But _you_ can’t let it get to you. It puts you in a bad place.”

He nodded glumly.

“Just be who are and embrace the negative and positive that comes with it,” she replied. “Quit trying to make everyone happy. It’s not humanly possible. You only psych yourself out and it results in your anxiety issues. Trust me, I know how bad it can be.”

Chris met her eyes. He could see it in the brown depths, the fear in her childhood that she had masked with her black clothes and antisocial behavior. Was it really all the same? Was his crisis of identity really happening this late in life? Maybe it was stunted because he’d grown up too fast in this industry. He’d skipped a few vital steps. Whatever it was, he knew he had a kindred spirit here, sitting in his lap. He’d known it for a long time, actually. He just couldn’t believe he’d been so oblivious.

“I don’t want them saying anything bad about the people I love,” he remarked.

She smiled and leaned over, kissing him softly. “Don’t worry about me. We Boston girls are made of tougher stuff than you think.”

“Some more than others.” He grinned and entwined his fingers in her hair to pull her forward for a deeper kiss.

Giuliana pushed back from him. “And stop thinking you’re any less of a man and unworthy of love just because you have a crazy life.”

“I think I project onto people my anxiety. It makes it easier to deal,” he said, “if I think they’re going through the same thing.”

“Well I’m not,” she said. “I’m secure in being who I am, and I am aware of the side effects of dating you. _You_ alone have to find your inner peace and forget about everyone watching you.”

Chris sighed. “I’ve just never come to terms about my new stardom. I’ve rethought my decision to do this series a million times.”

Giuliana cupped his face in her hands. “You made the right choice. You love the movies and friendships you’ve gained because of it. Take the negative with the positive and realize what an amazing life you have. You have a successful career that few people ever achieve, family and friends who love you… a great new girlfriend who is willing to put up with your crap… you’ve got it made.”

Her words made him laugh, easing the tension he felt in his body. He reached out for her and pulled her against his chest, kissing her deeply. “You’re better than great.”

“I’m glad you think so,” she replied.

“I don’t think. I know.”

Giuliana chuckled and reached for the bar of soap in the dish to his left. She dipped it in the water briefly and then lathered it in her hands. He watched her do this with some interest, especially as she rubbed the soap around her neck and slid her hand down her chest. For a brief moment she paused and looked at him, her eyes blinking and her cheeks flushing.

“Stop watching me like that,” she said.

Chris chuckled. “What do you expect me to do in this current position?”

Her arched brows rose in a challenging expression. “You have two hands, don’t you? You could help me…”

“I _could_ help you,” he replied. “But I’m more interested in watching you do it.”

Her hands dropped and pushed away the layer of bubbles impeding his direct view, exposing her body to him. Very slowly, she cupped her breasts and lathered them, teasing the hard dusky nipples. A quiet, feminine mewl sent a pleasing shiver down his back. She rose in the water for a moment and reached for a wash cloth on the towel bar. When she settled back, she dipped it in water and used it to rinse the soap off. The suds slowly slithered down her chest and abdomen before falling into the water.

He was faintly aware of the fact that his breathing had become shallow with his level of excitement, but he was rooted in rapt attention. Fingers itched to reach out and touch her, but he was perfectly happy watching her do this. Though it was clear this whole seductress act, with her unsure movements, was new territory for her, he didn’t care. What mattered was that it was Giuliana who was doing this little show for him. It wasn’t some meaningless romp with another chick from a club, or even one of his past girlfriends. He’d never understood it before, but now he did: there was just something different about these moments with another person in which there truly was a deeper connection. It meant more.

She tossed the wash cloth aside and lifted again, drawing her hands down her neck, sweeping them between the valley of her lovely, wonderful, full breasts and dipped to her navel. Dark eyes met his for a moment. She must have approved of what she saw as a small grin curved her lips and her palms pressed lower.

He licked his lips and reached out, stilling her hands. One delicate brow raised in a wordless question. “Nuh-uh, that’s mine.”

“Yours?” she murmured. Her incredulity was evident, but she was more amused by it. And turned on, if her sigh was any indication. 

“Mine.”

She submerged again in the water, bracing herself with hands on his chest. “You had better take care of it, then.”

He chuckled and grabbed her hips. “I fully intend to.”

“Then show me.”

Chris didn’t need any more provocation and her moan as he entered her was his undoing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, all I can say is thank you to the readers, kudos leavers and reviewers. Ya'll are awesome. Enjoy!

Chris woke up the following morning in a much more satisfying way, in no small part because the woman he loved was still asleep in bed beside him. He didn’t even care that what actually woke him was the sound of vibration from his cell phone on the bedside table. He ignored the device and instead focused on the woman who lay still in his arms, curled up to him. Soft, short breaths ruffled a bit of hair on his chest and made him grin like a loon. His arm that lay between the bed and her head was dead asleep, but for the life of him, he couldn’t give a fuck.

She shifted in her sleep and burrowed closer, so he wrapped his other arm around her, holding her tight to him. He knew that she was awake a few minutes later as her breathing returned to normal. However, she didn’t move.

“What time is it?” she mumbled tiredly against his chest. Her eyes were still screwed shut and trying to avoid the sun.

“10:30,” he answered after looking at the alarm clock.

“Ugh.” The sound was her only reply as she seemed to fall back into a light doze, but not asleep.

“When do you have to go?” he asked.

“I should probably head out by eleven,” she replied.

He nodded. “Do you have to go home?”

“I have a spare uniform in my locker at work.” But then she sat up suddenly. “Shit!”

“What?” he asked, sitting up with her.

“My stuff for tonight,” she said. “There’s no way I’m going to get back home before tonight with Michel in town.”

“Michel?” he asked.

“My boss,” she said. “He’s coming in for one of his visits. Wait! I can call Libby. She can swing by and grab it for me on her way in.”

She looked around, her tired eyes still trying to focus on the objects around her. “Where did I leave my phone?”

“You can use mine if you want,” he said, motioning to the side table.

Giuliana reached for the phone and handed it to him to put in his code. When she got it back, she quickly typed in the numbers and put it against her ear. He could faintly hear the rings as he dropped back on the bed, but the voicemail picked up instead of Libby. Giuliana left a message and hung up, looking at him.

“I hope she gets it,” she said.

“I’m sure she will,” he replied. “Don’t worry about it.”

Giuliana sighed. “They won’t let me into the club wearing my uniform, special VIP invite or not.”

“Don’t worry about it, G.” He reached for her arm and yanked her down onto the bed, pressing her back into the voluminous covers. Without giving her a moment to protest, he pressed random kisses across her face and down her neck.

She giggled as he continued his path south. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing.” He lightly kissed the space between her breasts and tickled her sides. She squirmed and smacked at his shoulder.

“Stop it,” she laughed. So he did, though he didn’t let her up.

He nipped at the curve of her left breast and dragged his tongue up to the tightening bud. Her laugh turned into a light moan when he closed his mouth around it, sucking and dragging his teeth over the sensitive flesh. Gooseflesh spread across her skin as he blew cool air over the dampened skin. Fingers gripped at his shoulders and brushed through his short hair as he descended lower, kissing a trail against her soft belly and disappearing beneath the covers. She was completely malleable, allowing him to rest her thighs over his shoulders.

The long, shuddering moan he received as soon as he laved his tongue over her clit made him grin against her. She bucked her hips when he added teeth, moving them with the rhythm of his attention. He grabbed them, though, and held them pinned to the bed. Her reaction was to let out a half pleasurable moan mixed with indignation over the fact that he’d stopped the added pleasure she was creating for herself.

“Chris,” she cried, reaching for him, but he held her steady, nipping at her and pushing in one finger, then a second, moving them with the rhythm of his mouth. 

Her body grew tense around him; he knew with one more good nip she would climax, so he stopped. He would have been lying if he said he didn’t like the heady sense of control that this brought to him... that he could make her body sing like this and that she was so responsive to him.

She cried out in irritation when he did not finish. “Christopher!”

He chuckled lazily and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, working his way back up her belly, paying attention to the delectable breast he had neglected before and then placed a kiss on her lips.

“It’s not nice to tease,” she said whined.

“I’m not done yet.” He kissed her long and slow as he rested into the seat of her pelvis.

Giuliana’s brief exhale and a moan caressed his mouth as he sheathed himself in her warmth to the hilt. She was perfect in every single way; they fit together in a way he had not shared with anyone else.

He rocked his hips in long, languid strokes to faster, shorter and intense ones. She moved with him, wrapping her legs snugly around his waist as fingernails raked down his back and grabbed his ass to urge him on. With a careful move he pushed back to a kneeling position and sat on his haunches, resting her rear on the incline of his thighs, guiding the movements of her hips. The tension in her body finally snapped with the new pressure; she writhed beneath him, her hands fisting in the sheets and blankets on either side of her body. It was her keen of pleasure, though, that ruined him. He heard himself groan hoarsely when at last he felt the euphoric spasms wracking his body, slowing his movements and emptying himself in her.

She shifted, clenching with her thighs as she sat up. Her voluminous hair fell around them as arms circled around his neck and lips nipped at his. Their eyes met and he smiled lazily, feeling the still rapid beat of her heart against his.

“I love you, Chris,” she said.

He glided his hands up her back, slightly slick with perspiration from the effort of their lovemaking, and hugged her tight. “I love you, too.”

She sighed happily. “You do things to me that no one ever has.”

“I would say that’s probably because you haven’t had enough of a sample size to compare me to,” he said, “but I’ll take it.”

Giuliana giggled. “Please… take it.”

He kissed her again.

“I need to grab a quick shower,” she said.

“May I join you?” he asked.

Giuliana shook her head. “No, once again I say you’re too distracting. I can’t be late today.”

He pouted.

“No!” she shook her head, climbing from him and off of the bed. He made to get up. “Stay there.”

“But…”

“I promise I will make it up to you tonight,” she replied as he inched toward the edge of the bed.

“You promise?”

She laughed as he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. He thought he’d almost won his argument as she rested her weight against him, but she quickly pushed away. “Yes! Stop it.”

“Alright,” he said and lightly smacked her behind.

She squeaked.

“I thought you were going.”

“I am!”

Giuliana shook her head and grabbed her bag, carrying it into the bathroom and shutting the door. The water went on and he searched for one of the bathrobes from last night—rather, very early this morning—and wrapped it around his body. His cell phone started jingling the generic ringtone, but it was a Las Vegas area code so he answered it.

“Hello?” he asked.

“Hey Studmuffin,” said the voice on the other end. “May I please speak with Giuli?”

“She’s in the shower. Who is this?”

The woman laughed. “It’s Libby.”

“Oh.” He chuckled. “Hey.”

“She said she needed me to grab her dress and stuff for tonight?”

“Yeah,” Chris said. “But you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Why not?”

He smiled. “I’m going shopping.”

“Are you sure? She’s got this really hot red dress.”

“I’m sure,” he said.

“Where are you going?”

“Does it matter?”

Libby sighed as though she was long suffering. “Yes! Of course it matters. There’s this amazing gold Alexander McQueen dress here at the Wynn that she’s tried on like half a dozen times, but she keeps waiting for it to go so far out of fashion that it’s cheap enough. At this rate, it’s going to be 2050 before that happens.”

“What size?” he asked.

“Four,” she said. “When you go in, ask for Ashley Samson. Tell her Libby sent you and you want the gold dress Giuliana keeps drooling over.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed.

“Shoes?”

“What?”

“She needs shoes, too,” Libby said. “I can still bring the ones she was planning on. Those are trickier to shop for and she’s really picky about shoes.”

“Oh, okay,” he replied. He hated shopping. Literally hated it. So it was good that Libby was being so helpful. “What about jewelry?”

The smile Libby must have had on her lips transferred through her voice. “You’ll need earrings and bracelets with that particular dress. Get some kind of colorful gemstone. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

He nodded. “Awesome. Now… will you do me a favor? Well, a few favors?”

“Sure…”

“Don’t tell her I’m doing this,” he said.

“That’s a given,” she replied.

“And try to get her out of work as soon as possible, even though Michel will be there.”

Libby chuckled. “I already have a plan in place. With any luck, I’ll get her out of here in enough time to meet you for the red carpet, if you want.”

“That would be amazing,” he said. “I’m doing the carpet at 11:30.”

“Okay,” she replied. “You’ll be golden.”

Chris chuckled. “Alright. I better get off the phone before she gets out of the shower.”

“So that’s where she is,” Libby said. “Okay. I’m saving your number in my phone, by the way.”

“That’s fine. I’ll keep yours, too.”

“Just don’t drunk dial me, mmkay?"

“I wouldn’t think of it.”

Libby laughed. “Oh, and Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“I love Giuli very much,” Libby said. “You hurt her, I castrate you.”

“Trust me, I don’t want to screw it up,” he replied.

“Good,” Libby chuckled. “Later.”

Chris hung up the phone and saved the number under Libby’s name. The water was still running in the bathroom, but there was a loud knock at his door.

“Open up, Evans! Daylight’s wasting!” Robert’s booming voice made him laugh. He knew he wouldn’t be free of his friend’s antics today. But at least he’d waited until later in the morning to bother him.

Chris walked to the door and opened it only to have the man push into the room and take a look around. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi! Hey,” Robert said and turned to look at him. “I’ve called you like ten times. Where have you been?”

“Asleep,” Chris replied.

Robert raised a brow. It was difficult not to laugh at him when he was like this—the man was so much like the Tony Stark character that it was scary, and it didn’t help that he was busy shooting the next movie, so he was in full on Tony Stark mode, complete with goatee.

“Is the water running?” As he said it, the water shut off.

“Uh, no.”

“Who’s in there?”

“Giuliana,” he said.

“Huh? Did you say something, Chris? Can you grab me one of the robes?” said the feminine voice as she stepped out of the bathroom, slightly damp and completely nude. “Holy shit!”

She pulled the towel from her hair and draped it across her front. But it didn’t matter. Robert stood completely still in the middle of the hall, a shit-eating grin on his lips. It hadn’t fazed the man. Giuliana turned a bright red and inched back into the bathroom and shut the door.

Her small voice on the other side of the door filled the stunned silence. “Oh my god.”

“Giuli, it’s okay,” Chris said.

“Do you know who’s standing in your room? It most certainly is _not_ okay!” she called. “Go get me the damn robe, Christopher.”

Chris pushed past his friend to locate the robe and came back to the bathroom door. He knocked and she stuck her hand out, and disappeared quickly. “Babe, I’m sure he’s seen a naked woman before.”

“Quite a few actually,” Robert responded.

Chris laughed at him, which, in hindsight, may not have been the best thing to do.

“My life keeps getting more and more bizarre. Robert Downey Jr. just saw me naked,” she muttered as she stepped out of the bathroom, the robe secured tightly around her waist and her hair back up in the towel.

Robert laughed. “It’s alright, sweetheart, I saw the picture from the other day already… you weren’t necessarily covering much up.”

“Are you my mother?” she replied.

“Not the last time I checked.”

Giuliana rolled her eyes.

“So I’m gonna take it you aren’t a booty call or an escort,” Robert said. “Unless, of course, you are… in which case… Damn, Evans.”

She scoffed.

Chris reached for Giuliana and placed a hand on her back when she scoffed. “Ignore him, Giuli. He has no filter. It just flies out.”

“No impulse control at all,” Robert confirmed and stepped forward. He offered his hand to Giuliana. She shook it. “Hi, I’m Robert.”

“I know who you are. I’m Giuliana, Chris’ girlfriend,” she said.

“We’ve known each other since high school,” Chris added.

Robert nodded. “Oh, so you’re the girl he kept going on about. I thought he was talking about one of his other girl friends from high school last night.”

“You mean Kara?” Giuliana asked, glancing at Chris.

“Yep, that’s her,” Robert snapped his fingers.

Chris rolled his eyes. “Kara’s getting married in September.”

“Alright, this has been great, but I am here to grab you for brunch,” Robert said. “It's the start to your birthday festivities. Now I know why I was sent as the sacrificial lamb. I’d be the only one who could pry you away from Giuliana.”

“Let me get cleaned up,” Chris said. “And I’ll be ready in about a half hour.”

Robert nodded and moved toward the door. On his way out, he stopped and looked back at them. “Nice to meet you, again.”

The door shut, and as it did, Giuliana punched his arm. “I hate you.”

“I didn’t know you were going to come walking out naked!” Chris grabbed for his arm.

“I didn’t know he was here!”

“You mean to tell me you couldn’t hear him coming from a mile away? He isn’t necessarily hard to miss,” Chris said.

Giuliana scoffed at him once again and turned to go back into the bathroom. She shut the door and locked it.

“I need to get cleaned up, G,” he said to the closed door.

“I’ll let you in when I’m done,” she replied. “Hold on.”

When she finally emerged, she was fully clothed. Her damp hair was thrown back into a ponytail. She slipped on the rubber work shoes she’d worn to the hotel and came over to him.

“I love you,” she said again.

“You sure?” he questioned.

Giuliana laughed. “Against my better judgement.”

“I love you, too.”

“Happy Birthday,” she said.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

He left a lingering kiss on her lips. “Have a good day at work.”

“Have fun at breakfast,” she said.

“I will.”

Giuliana grinned and reluctantly left his arms. She grabbed her things and left him in a quiet, empty hotel room. After a moment, he shook his head clear of the amorous thoughts and convinced himself to go have a shower.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, my friends... bogged down with work and grad school stuff. Thank you so, so much for your continued support on this! I'm just having some fun with this. I am contemplating a Hiddleston RPF next, but trying to decide on what avenue I'm going to take it. Hope you'll be around for that as well. :D
> 
> Enjoy!

Giuliana jumped in her seat when she heard the sudden booming voice of her flamboyant French boss come down the hallway from the front of the restaurant. Glancing around the small office, she verified that everything still appeared to be in order after the fifth time she’d been through it, picking up and organizing the clutter. Nothing had moved, her box was clear of paperwork and everything else had found a home in its rightful place. Now all she had to worry about was her meeting with Michel.

Michel was both the best boss in the entire world and the most difficult boss in the entire world. Of the list of chefs she had worked for, he was probably the best from his cooking technique to his business acumen. The man knew what he was doing and ran his business efficiently enough that his visits were rare when a restaurant was producing. Their numbers had not declined much, even in spite of the economy, but a sudden visit like this was not something that made her feel well.

The door opened quickly and the older man with dark hair and attractive gray threading it at the sides leaned into the room. “Giuli, ma belle! How are you?”

“I’m wonderful,” she replied.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed each of her cheeks. She missed working directly with him like she had when she first started as a line cook at his original restaurant in France. He was vivacious and fun, the perfect teacher for a girl recently out of culinary school.

“You look wonderful.” He stepped back and looked her over like a parent assessing his child’s physical health. “I have not seen you glow as much as I do right now.”

She smiled. “You look great as well.”

He grinned and glanced around the office. “Let us go to the kitchen and do a quick inspection so we can dispense of the formalities of my visit.”

“Of course, Michel,” she said.

Michel parted from her and headed out the door. Giuliana pulled herself together and followed after him. When she reached the kitchen, each of the line chefs were lined up at their stations at attention as Michel made a lengthy inspection of the kitchen, his staff, and their clothing. It wasn’t until he made a full revolution and came back around to her that he smiled and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Back to work everyone,” he commanded. She gave them a thumbs up as Michel turned and left the kitchen. The others visibly relaxed, breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their prep work.

Giuliana grinned and joined him back in the office. When she came back into the room, a large box sat on top of the desk, with two much smaller ones on top of it. Michel frowned and picked up the plain white card that lay on them. He showed her the untidy black lettering on the face of it. It was her name.

“I don’t know what it is,” Giuliana said.

“Well, then, you should open it to find out,” Michel instructed as he took off his coat and hung it on the rack. He carefully rolled up his shirtsleeves to his elbows as he took a seat in the desk chair.

Giuliana stepped forward and reached for the smaller boxes first. Inside the smallest one was a beautiful pair of amethyst earrings that looked heavy and expensive. The imprint on the velvet lining read “Cartier.” In the next box was a stack of bangles in gold, with varying styles, a few with matching amethysts, but others with more colorful gems. It made her giggle girlishly as she reached for the large white box and pulled the top off.

Lying on top of the golden cocktail dress she’d been in love with since the first day she saw it in the window of the Alexander McQueen store was a note.

_G-_

_I told you not to worry about it. See you tonight. 11:30 sharp._

_Love,_

_C._

Giuliana giggled again and placed a hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle it. She hadn’t expected something like this… or that he’d know her style that well. Unless, of course, he’d gotten to Libby first, which was entirely possible. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that her boyfriend—god, it was still so weird to say that—had gone out of his way to do this for her. And it made her heart soar along with her girlish laugh.

“Who is this ‘C’?” asked the voice beside her.

She jerked her head up, realizing that Michel was standing over her and reading the letter. Giuliana pulled the note away and looked down at the dress again. “My boyfriend.”

“He has impeccable taste with the French jewels,” Michel chuckled. “But McQueen?”

“Oh, hush, I love this dress!” Giuliana said, moving the box from the desk onto one of the chairs beside her.

“What’s happening at 11:30?”

“His birthday party,” she replied. “I told him I wouldn’t be there until midnight, though, because I’ll have to finish up here.”

Michel met her eyes. “Why didn’t you take the evening off?”

“Because you were going to be in town… I can’t miss being here while you’re here. It wouldn’t be right,” she said.

He smiled a slow smile and shook his head. “You need days off. It is why I give you personal days, Giuliana. I command you to take the night off.”

“But—”

“Non!” he exclaimed. “I will not hear of it. I can handle service tonight. It will do me good to have a run in the kitchen. It’s been far too long.”

Giuliana looked at him. “Michel…”

“It’s fortunate that I’m in town today. You may work until six tonight, and then you are leave for the night,” he said. “And have a wonderful time with your boyfriend.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Oui. Don’t be so surprised. I know what it is like to be in love,” he said. “It explains why you are glowing.”

She grinned sheepishly.

“So,” he began. He sat carefully into his chair once more and rested back, looking at her.

“Yes?”

“Are you serious with this new paramour?” he asked.

“I am. I think. Why?”

“Would he relocate with you if you had to move?”

Giuliana jerked her head up from where she had been lovingly fingering the soft gold cloth of her dress. “Huh?”

“If you moved… say to New York,” he said. “Would he be moving with you?”

“He doesn’t live in Las Vegas,” she replied. “He’s from Boston… so I suppose if I were in New York it would be easier than being here. Why, Michel?”

Michel nodded his head thoughtfully and met her eyes. “My doctors say I am wearing myself too thin… whatever that means. They say I do too much traveling, especially with all of my public appearances. So, I have decided to take on a formal Vice President of Food and Beverage instead of doing this quality control myself. You are the only one of my executive chefs I trust to oversee food quality control while being knowledgeable of the business and customer service aspects. Of course, we still have the corporate officers in place to handle the business, but they do not know cooking like you.”

Complete and utter surprise couldn’t have come close to describing what she felt at the moment, especially after she had thought Michel showing up out of nowhere was a bad omen. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times. The words refused to come.

“This will involve most of the year traveling,” he said, “But your home base will be the New York office. Salary will be twice what you’re making now.”

“Twice?” It was a lot of money.

He nodded. “We’re doing very well as a business.”

Giuliana swallowed and looked down at the hands that now lay in her lap. This was probably one of the biggest opportunities of her life… honestly one of the main reasons she had stayed working for Michel instead of going out on her own. She knew eventually he’d promote her to a position like this. After ten long years, it seemed right though also surprising that he didn’t go to one of his more experienced chefs for this. Unless, of course, he wanted youth, which is what it sounded like. Taking this position would set her up for the rest of her life. Not everyone got an opportunity to do this for one of the top chefs in the world. And this wasn’t to speak of the fact that this profession was an old boys club—being offered this position in lieu of her gender was staggering.

And yet... yet something held her back from agreeing unreservedly. Had Michel shown up four days ago, she would have accepted the proposition on the spot. But a lot had changed in the last four days. More so than anyone could have ever planned for. Now she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was never in one place for a long time. If they ever wanted to see each other, one of them had to remain stationary—that is to say, living in one spot. Even living in Las Vegas was better than being in New York and traveling most of the year. She and Chris would never see each other if that happened.

But then… was Chris ready for that type of commitment? Yeah, they’d talked about the future a few times over the past few days. She’d almost been proposed to, for crying out loud. But Chris was impetuous in matters of the heart. She knew that. Was he really ready to take a permanent step like that? Should she hinge her entire career on him when his professions of marriage and children could have been nothing more than kneejerk reactions to the euphoria of a new relationship? And then, did she really want to do this, only to put off starting a family for five or ten years more? By then it would almost be too late, even if Chris did wait for her.

“I see many things on your face, ma belle,” said the soft French voice.

Giuliana glanced at the searching brown eyes of her boss. He was leaning over his desk and watching her carefully. “I’m honored, Michel. I can’t even tell you how much this offer means to me.”

He smiled. “But…”

“But I don’t know,” she said.

“I do not expect an answer from you right now,” he said. “This is a big responsibility. I want you to be sure.”

Giuliana nodded. “Of course.”

“I will need to know by the end of the month, however, so I can make other plans if necessary.”

She smiled.

“I want you to know that no matter what you choose to do, I will always be there to support you in your career,” he said.

It was a relief. More than he probably knew.

There was a knock on the door and Libby popped her head in the room. “Hey... Michel, I’d like to go over some paperwork with you before service starts. Are you available?”

He nodded. “Certainly, Libby. Did you see the gifts Giuliana received?”

Libby grinned. “Not the jewelry, but I know what the dress looks like.”

“So you did tell him,” Giuliana replied.

“Speaking of which,” Libby said, “can I request an evening off for someone other than myself?”

Michel laughed. “Already done. I will be captaining this boat tonight.”

“Perfect! I don’t have to do any groveling!” Libby replied. “Giuli, I made an appointment at the salon for you at eight. Damaris is staying late just for you.”

“I can do my own hair and makeup.”

Libby shook her head. “Please go get pampered. You haven’t taken a day off in I don’t know how long.”

“She is right,” Michel said. “We will be fine here... you enjoy yourself.”

With that, Michel stood from his seat and left the office with Libby in tow. Giuliana sat silently, staring at the wall. She felt like Cinderella, and really, that was all that mattered.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, Michel is based loosely off of Jean Dujardin. If Michel's language sounds odd when you read it, I did it intentionally since he is a non native speaker.
> 
> This chapter is a little less fluffy than normal, just because I have to have a little drama. I hope you like the drama, though!
> 
> Thanks for all your support! It means to world to me.

Chris took his time that night getting ready for the party. He didn’t want to the first one to arrive because that wasn’t how you did it in Hollywood, but he certainly didn’t want to appear ungrateful for the party. Neither did he want to be faced with tons of fans vying for his attention without the safety net of his friends. So he was fine taking forever to dress, despite the fact that every ounce of his being wanted to be downstairs right now waiting for Giuliana. After seeing the dress that Libby had told him to buy, his excitement and anticipation for the evening had only grown. The waiting was unbearable.

At exactly 11:34, according to his cell phone, he did one more check in the mirror and pulled on his coat. His trip down and around the casino was quick and he heard the commotion before he actually saw it. Not one to travel with an entourage, he didn’t have anyone to fend off crazy people, so he took a deep breath of the stale, smoky air and pushed past a line of people blocking the entrance into the lobby area of the club.

Robert spotted him edging along unnoticed and made sure everyone within the area realized the birthday boy had arrived by pulling him onto the short red carpet entrance they had rolled out for this even. Chris was surprised and overwhelmed by the attention and amount of media here for the party. He knew it was more a studio thing than a personal birthday celebration, but he had hoped for some level of privacy tonight.

Chris smiled as politely as possible as his palms grew sweaty and the flashbulbs blinded him. He glanced at Robert who had thrown arm over his shoulders. “How long have you been here?”

“About ten minutes,” he said.

“Have you seen Giuliana yet?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

Chris frowned. He had sincerely hoped that Giuliana would make it earlier than she had planned, but he didn’t know what had been going on at the restaurant and he knew she was serious about her job. Chris sighed and posed for some more pictures with a few of the other attendees coming through and slowly moved his way down the line. A few reporters were shouting at him for interviews. He could tell just by the look in their eyes that they wanted to ask about one thing. That was all anyone wanted to talk about. His publicist had called him again this afternoon to say he was getting call after call for a comment on the matter.

He glanced over at the other line on the opposite side the foyer—the one with the people who were waiting for a turn to get inside and party with the people who had actually been invited—just to make sure she wasn’t there. She wasn’t, but there was a contingent of incredibly scantily-clad women there preening themselves.

Chris pursed his lips and turned his eyes back to the cameras. For the first time since he’d looked at that Playboy in third grade, he found it easy to look away from the women trying to get his attention. He knew he’d been a bit of a manwhore recently, enjoying his singledom, but they didn’t even entice him. All he was worried about was the woman who should be here standing right beside him.

As if he dreamed her, there was a lull in the flashes of pictures as Hemsworth passed by him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Coming in the lobby was a vision in gold. She looked absolutely amazing and mouthwatering in the criminally short dress with the deep plunge in her neckline showing off the ample cleavage of perfectly pert, heavy mounds. Her dark hair had been softly pulled back into a fancy thing at the base of her neck, showing off the big purple stones of the earrings in her ears. Her legs seemed to go on for days out of the short miniskirt, accentuated by the tall black stilettos on her feet. He let his eyes travel back up the length of her, thinking she had to have been replaced by some Ancient Roman goddess. She _was_ Venus.

She was busy fiddling with her clutch, though, and didn’t notice him openly checking her out. But the women who had been watching him from their spot in line noticed him watching her and they recognized her.

He heard a murmur of, “Oh, it’s her!” ripple through the crowd.

Chris took that as his cue to step off the carpet to retrieve her. Finally, she glanced up and smiled at him.

“You do fill out a suit well,” she murmured as he leaned in and kissed her lips.

“Thanks,” he said. “Please remind me to thank Libby for telling me which dress to get.”

Giuliana laughed. “You like?”

“I love.” He took a hold of her hand and pulled her around the crowd and onto the red carpet. The flashes started anew, with a new fervor of shouting reporters, but he ignored them. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his side.

She giggled and relaxed against him. After a few moments, she glanced in his direction. “This is insane.”

“This isn’t even that bad,” he said. “This is a few local dudes. Try international press conferences and photocalls.”

“It’s so weird,” she replied.

He nodded grimly. “Do you want to go in? We’ve given them enough fodder for now. My publicist will shoot me.”

“Why?”

“Because I refuse to give a statement about you,” he said. “That’s something you have to do. I want you to be comfortable with it.”

Giuliana met his gaze. “Chris, we could shout it from the rooftops and I would be happy. Besides, I would rather they know who I am than make up stupid stories.”

Chris turned and grinned, leaning over to press a light kiss to her lip. Some lipstick must have transferred to his skin because she reached up with a thumb and wiped it across the edge of his lips. And it was in that moment that he forgot about everyone around them. About the crush of people making him anxious, wanting his time. They just didn’t matter anymore. The anxiety didn’t matter because he had better things to focus on.

“Let’s go in,” she said. “My feet are already killing me.”

He laughed. “Then why did you wear them?”

“Because,” she murmured, leaning close to his ear, “they’re my ‘fuck me’ heels.”

He knew he blushed. There was no point in trying to hide it. However, it was that other reaction—the blood suddenly rushing to his lower extremities—that he could still hide.

“And apparently, they’re working,” she smirked and stepped back.

“Alright, time to go inside,” he said and took her hand, guiding her past the big doorman into the dark club that already looked packed. He followed the edge of the dance floor around to the private party section where it looked like the party was already in full swing. Tom grabbed two flutes of champagne and danced his way over to them.

“You look smashing, darling,” Tom said, leaning over and kissing Giuliana’s cheek.

“Thanks!” She giggled as she grabbed a champagne and took a long drink. Chris watched with some interest as she removed the glass from her lips, flicking her tongue out over her full lower lip. She noticed him and reached up to cover her lips with a sheepish blush. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Chris raised a brow at her and grinned. “I have to go do my thing... do you want to come with me?”

“Your... thing?” she asked.

“Schmoozing,” he said.

“You have fun. I’m going to strike out on my own,” she replied. “Just don’t be too long.”

“I won’t.” He kissed her one last time and left her to Tom’s machinations.

\----

Giuliana sighed and looked around the club. She’d never been one to be overly fond of the club setting, but tonight hadn’t been bad because she was with a good group of people. Still, though, when she looked around at just who comprised this group, she couldn’t help feeling a little star struck. They all seemed so untouchable on the silver screen. However, here they were just regular Joes. Nice, welcoming regular Joes.

It was refreshing despite the fact that she still felt like an outsider. It was like she was back in high school, watching Chris flit around with the popular crowd while she sat quietly in the shadows, being the friend who was always there for him, though it had always been on his terms then. He had never been particularly secretive about his friendship with her, like he was ashamed, but he also hadn’t made a big deal about including her in things when it involved a certain set of people. And if it involved a certain type of girl… forget about it.

This popular group was much more welcoming to her than ones in high school, she would admit that, but she still didn’t have anything in common with them. They were talking about the business and Hollywood and acting and everything that went along with it. She had nothing to contribute to the conversation. It made her feel lonely and out of place, but she also knew this was Chris’ life and if she intended to be a part of it, she had to get used to it.

Giuliana sighed as she focused on Chris now talking to that bimbo who had dated Hugh Hefner. How was it even right that someone made a living because of who they had dated? Holly Whatsherface was clearly interested in Chris, touching his arms, squeezing slightly on biceps and giggling. She was blonde and bubbly. Though she knew that wasn’t necessarily the type of girl Chris liked, it was still a blow to her own ego. She may have changed a lot in the years since high school, but her body moved, drooped, wrinkled, and did other things that bodies _should_ do with age. His current conversation partner would be well preserved for some time with all that plastic surgery.

She pursed her lips and looked down at her empty glass. It was probably better that it was empty. If she drank any more, she’d only become cattier about all the beautiful women surrounding him, despite the fact that he had made a very public show of his affection earlier. What amazed her more was that the women didn’t seem to care that his girlfriend was right across the room. Of course, Chris could have done his part and turned them off the path they were on, but that wasn’t Chris. He was friendly with all women.

Giuliana glanced at the bar and back at her drink. She needed to get a drink. Hopefully something that would put her into a good mood. But a body sidling up beside her made her pause. It took a few moments in the dark club for her eyes to adjust and realize who was standing beside her in a pristine suit.

“What are you doing here?”

The French man’s mouth curved into a smile. “I’m courting new chefs to take over for you if you decide to take the promotion.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see that you are very alone and should not be so alone,” he said. “If your boyfriend is not careful, another guy just might come up and steal you away.”

“Of all the clubs in Vegas, this is the one you came to?” she asked.

He smiled. “This is the one I heard had the best party tonight. I can see why I was told that, with half of Hollywood here… What are you drinking?”

Giuliana looked at the glass he had pointed to. “Something not nearly strong enough.”

“Come with me,” he said. “I’ll take care of that. Strictly off the clock, of course.”

She laughed and followed him to the bar as a couple left the ledge. He motioned to the bartender and asked for two shots of Patron. The large shot glasses were placed in front of them and filled. Michel held his up in salute. When she picked hers up, he clinked the edge and downed his drink.

“Drink,” he commanded.

Giuliana threw back the potent liquor, grimacing and shivering as it slid down her throat. She set the shot glass down on the bar and opened her eyes, finding Michel’s inquisitive dark eyes watching her. “That’s really strong.”

He laughed. “Still don’t like tequila, hmm?”

“Oh, I’m a tequila fan,” she said. “Tequila’s still not a fan of me.”

Michel motioned for another shot for each of them. Like the last, they clinked glasses, but this time the liquor went down easier. After he paid the bartender, he turned to look at her. “We should dance.”

“I really should go back,” she replied and glanced over at the party still going on in the private section. Chris was still in conversation with Holly and didn’t seem to be wrapping it up any time soon. No one else seemed to be particularly concerned she was talking to some random guy. One dance with Michel wouldn’t hurt. After all, Michel was an amazing dancer. She knew that for a fact. She’d danced with him on more than one occasion.

“Come on,” he pressed. “For old time’s sake.”

“The last time we danced, I woke up the next morning with a hellacious hangover and full of regrets,” she said.

He laughed in that very French way. It was airy and pompous all at the same time, but it was utterly exotic and captivating. “Come on, ma belle.”

She sighed. She wasn’t nearly drunk enough to make a stupid decision like she had that night so many years ago. They’d both put that behind them. A dance wouldn’t hurt. And no one else seemed to be overly interested in talking to her at the moment. Dancing would be preferable to being a wallflower.

Giuliana took his hand and followed him out to the crowded dance floor. It was as they fell into the rhythm of a club mixed Shakira song that the tequila truly started taking affect and loosening her up. He was an expert lead, pulling her into a modified salsa. She remembered that night many years ago when she’d briefly served as executive chef at one of his restaurants in Miami. He’d taken the entire staff out for drinks and dancing in celebration of a successful restaurant opening. It was there he’d taught her how to salsa… among other things that were even fuzzier in her brain with the passage of time.

She’d had too much to drink that night, that much she knew. Now it was nothing more than a fond memory they shared, but it wasn’t something that was revisited or widely known. They hadn’t told anyone. She hadn’t even told Libby about it. Tonight, however, it confused her that he wanted to revisit it.

Of course, he was probably just being kind. She was sure she’d looked pretty lame all by herself.

“Where are you?” asked the voice close to her ear.

Giuliana snapped back into reality and looked at Michel. “Miami.”

His grin told her enough. He was thinking about that night as well. With ease, he pulled her against his body, executed a quick step and twirled her around. “I think back on it fondly.”

She gave him a small smile. “I love Chris.”

“I know you do,” he said. “I’ve grown to know you very well. I can see it in your eyes.”

He turned her around, so that her back was against his chest. She knew instantly why he did it and held her in place, with hands resting possessively against her belly. Chris was now talking to Hemsworth and some other guy, but his attention was hardly on the conversation as his eyes were not very casually watching her. He wasn’t happy. Well, it served him right for completely abandoning her for a few hours.

But she also knew she was skating a very thin line. Michel was clearly pushing at the boundaries of their professional and friendly relationship again. She allowed him to do it because that was Michel’s personality. He was always one comment away from a harassment lawsuit in his day-to-day life. And, if truth be told, she liked the attention. Who wouldn’t when it was coming from an attractive guy?

“Oh, look, here he comes,” Michel said, stepping back from her but not allowing her out of his reach.

Hemsworth followed quickly after Chris as Chris marched purposefully across the dance floor. “Chris, stop it,” she heard Hemsworth say to him, but he didn’t listen.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Chris exclaimed.

The anger was directed at Michel, not at her. The Frenchman stepped back and smiled at him. “I was dancing with a gorgeous girl. Why were you not dancing with her?”

Giuliana knew Chris wouldn’t take kindly to the French arrogance in Michel’s voice. Chris, too, was arrogant, but his arrogance was very different. In Boston, people did not sit back and let some dude walk all over them. Michel was all words. Chris was action.

“Chris, calm down,” she said, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm. “Don’t do this.”

“And why the hell shouldn’t I? There I’m talking to some people and I look over and see you grinding all up on another guy.” There was no mistaking the anger in his voice, but his anger only made _her_ angry. He had no right to do this. Why couldn’t she dance with someone else? Who gave him the right to control that?

“Who the fuck made you my lord and master?” she asked. The Boston had been wrested from its previous dormancy inside her, too.

Michel stepped between them. “Ma belle, I find it difficult to picture you with this… this…” He struggled to find a word, most likely waffling between his native French or unfamiliar English. When he was angry, he always reverted right back to his language. He chose French this time, too. She didn’t know what he’d said, but it was enough to know he was pissed.

Giuliana saw Chris clench his fist and begin to raise his arm. As if in slow motion, Hemsworth, who still stood behind Chris, lunged forward and like a vice encircled his arms around his friend. She was thankful Hemsworth had enough presence of mind to do it, and that he was the one to come with Chris. Had it been Tom or someone else, they wouldn’t have been able to contain Chris’ anger.

“Evans, stop it,” Hemsworth spoke. “You’re drunk and need to cool down.”

“Like fuck I do. Let me at him,” Chris said, attempting to lunge again.

Hemsworth’s hold on him was strong and Chris was uncoordinated with the alcohol he had consumed. “Alright, buddy, you’re going to your room. Giuli, do you have his hotel room key?”

“Yeah, he gave me one last night,” she said.

“Follow me,” Hemsworth said, bodily pushing Chris toward the back of the club and the service exit in the back. 

Giuliana looked at Michel. “I’m so sorry, Michel.”

He sighed. “I deserve it… but I do truly hope he is worth it.”

“I may be pissed at him right now, but he is,” Giuliana replied. “I’ll see you at the restaurant tomorrow?”

Michel nodded. “Goodnight.”

She half-waved, already a few steps away from him to catch up with the others. Staff let them pass—likely a combination of them knowing who they were and also because there were two large, angry men struggling against each other to break free. They made it out the back and she dutifully followed Hemsworth, only realizing belatedly that there was a trail of people following them. Elsa was coming after, along with Tom and Robert. Elsa fell into stride beside her and held out her hand, revealing the clutch Giuliana had left at the table Elsa had been at a little while ago. 

“Gracias,” Giuliana said. Good thing Elsa had remembered—the room key was in there.

Elsa looked at her with pained eyes and spoke in her Spanish tongue. “Who were you dancing with?”

“He is my friend and boss,” she said in reply. “Nothing else.”

“Evans is going to feel like an ass in the morning,” Elsa remarked.

“Oh, he will,” Giuliana replied. Because as soon as they were safely ensconced in the hotel room, she fully intended to let the ass have it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, ya'll are awesome! Thank you for the reads and the kudos and reviews. I love hearing from you.

Giuliana’s anger was indescribable as they finally made it to the hotel suite. She was ashamed of herself for letting Michel push so far—no matter how playfully—and embarrassed with the scene they had caused. She was irritated at Chris’ pigheadedness about her interaction with other men whom he viewed as a threat. She was even more livid that he apparently thought he could control her actions. But, most of all, she was sad that something like this was going to be the cause of pent up frustration on her part—at least seventeen good years of it—coming to the surface. It was about ready to bubble up in a Mount Vesuvius of arguments.

Hemsworth pushed Chris into the room as she held the door open. Chris pulled away, incensed at being manhandled and went back to the bedroom where he slammed the door that separated the small living area and the bedroom. Giuliana pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily as she stepped in that direction. A large arm flew out in front of her, staying her movements. She looked up at Hemsworth, then at Tom and Robert who were standing behind his shoulders. 

“What?”

“I don’t think you should go in there,” Hemsworth said.

“Why?” she asked, wishing she hadn’t had that tequila earlier. It had officially pushed her over the edge and she felt fuzzy.

Tom gave her a stern look and stepped forward. “Don’t you think you should let him cool down?”

She snorted at him. “Are you kidding me?”

Judging from each of the men’s expressions, she knew they weren’t kidding. They were all serious.

“What, you think he’s going to hurt me?” she asked. “He’s not going to hurt me.”

“He’s in an alcohol-fueled rage,” Robert remarked. “You’d be surprised what could happen.”

Giuliana shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Their dubious looks remained. “I’m going to sit right down here and wait,” Hemsworth said. 

“You guys are being ridiculous,” she said. “I’ll be fine and I’m going in.”

She pushed passed Hemsworth and walked across the living area. The door was unlocked and she let herself into the bedroom. Chris wasn’t the type of man to be physical, but she was still nervous. People did strange things when they had consumed alcohol. Like dance with their boss.

He sat on the bed, hands balled into fists and pressed into the mattress. His jaw was set, and as he looked up at her, she could see the blazing fury in his blue eyes. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” she asked.

Chris glared at her. “Your fucking boyfriend.”

Oh, there was the Bostonian in full force.

“So what? Does that mean I can’t ever dance with another guy?”

“Not when it’s literally fucking each other on the floor,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t like that. I’m sorry your fucking beer goggles made you see something that didn’t happen.”

“Didn’t happen?! Ha!” he said. 

“Maybe if you’d just taken a moment I could have told you it was my boss,” she said.

“That’s supposed to be make me feel better?” he asked.

Giuliana threw her hands up. “I’ve known this man for ten years. He has always been feely. He’s French, for crying out loud. _That_ kind of Frenchman.”

“Well, it looked like a whole hell of lot more than that,” he said. “How do you think it makes me look that my girlfriend is out there doing that with another guy?”

“Oh! So all of this is because your ego got a little bruised?” she asked incredulously. “Well, tough shit. Welcome to the real world.”

“What about how it makes you look? Especially after what was spread around in the press yesterday?”

Giuliana took a step back and involuntarily lifted a hand, waving it at him in annoyance. “Just what are you insinuating?”

To his credit, his kept his mouth shut.

“That’s what I fucking thought,” she said.

“You know what? I just don’t know.” He stood up suddenly and walked to the large window looking out onto the Strip, his back to her. “What am I supposed to think? We haven’t been around each other for years. How the fuck do I know you’re not fucking every guy who comes along?”

“That’s fucking rich, coming from you.” Giuliana couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth. She could have chalked it up to drunken stupidity if he didn’t seem so lucid. Clearly alcohol was contributing to his brazenness, but these words were what he truly felt. Alcohol had not manufactured them; he wasn’t holding anything back. “And all of this because you feel just a little bit emasculated. Maybe you shouldn’t have completely forgotten about me all night. Maybe then I would have danced with you, instead of someone else taking pity on me.”

He didn’t reply.

“You know something? It was just like our entire friendship all over again. You got sidetracked with a pretty, buxom chick who was hanging all over you and you left me in the dust.”

He turned around to her and rolled his eyes. “Well _excuse_ me for being sociable.”

“There’s a fucking line,” she said. “And I’m sick and tired of always being the girl who’s there for you when you don’t have anything better to do. I’m so over it.”

“Name one time other than tonight. I dare you,” he said. He came to stand in front of her as though his sheer size and presence—while daunting—would make her back down from the argument. It only pissed her off more.

She scoffed. “Eighth grade. Skate night. I wanted a Coke, you went to get one from me. I never got my Coke. Why the fuck didn’t I get my Coke? Because Nicki Berkowski strolled on by in a pink miniskirt.”

“Come on, Giuliana. We were kids,” he said. 

“Oh, yeah? Let’s see… another time,” Giuliana said, pursing her lips and going through her memory. “Oh, you took me to go see Titanic for the fifth time in sophomore year. I wanted Red Vines. You went to get it for me. You returned not with the fucking Red Vines, but with Lauren Jacobson… who you invited to sit with us despite the fact that she was the biggest Mean Girl in our fucking high school. Did it ever occur to you that I wanted to be alone with you? No, it didn’t.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but she held up her hand to stop him. She was on a roll.

“How ‘bout that time you were supposed to go with me to the football game, but you said you were busy. You showed up anyway with your crew to ogle Jennie as she bounced around with the other cheerleaders. What about all those other times we’d be hanging out and your friends would show up and I’d be completely forgotten? You’ve taken me for granted our entire friendship… and now I don’t know about this relationship. Am I going to be taken for granted again? I’m fucking _tired_ of being a sure thing. I’m _tired_ of you thinking I’m always going to be there when you need it… but when _I_ need it, you are fucking oblivious. One of these days, I just may not be there.”

He stood silent, his eyes glazed over. Either she’d reached information overload or she was actually making some sense to him. His face was completely blank.

“I get that you’ve got to do your thing and schmooze. I know that’s a part of this business… but you don’t forget about me like all the other times. If this is going to work between us, you better fucking adjust the way you think about me,” she said. “I’m not some friend you keep for fair weather. If I’m going to be your girlfriend… or your wife someday… something has to change. And until it does, I’m sorry, but we need to cool off.”

“But…” He reached out, stopping her as she turned away from him.

“No.” She pulled her hand out of his grasp. “You clearly aren’t ready for that sort of commitment to me. I’m not going to put my life on hold for you if it’s just going to be same old shit all over again. I refuse to be that girl again.”

Chris opened his mouth but no words came out.

“My boss offered me a promotion today… a pretty damn big one. I’m going to take it. It’ll give you some time to get sorted out. And when you’re ready, we can talk,” she said and walked to the door. Giuliana opened it and stepped out into the living area, doing her best to keep her own emotions at bay.

“Where are you going?” he called.

“Home,” she replied.

“Don’t,” he said.

“Goodbye, Christopher,” she said. “Happy fucking Birthday.”

Giuliana squared her shoulders and stepped out into the room where the three men stood up quickly. She’d completely forgotten they were there. But it didn’t matter. If anyone had to hear all the details of their friendship, she knew the secrets were safe with them.

Tom hopped over and stepped out into the hall with her. She looked up at him. “What do you want?”

“Can I walk you down?” he asked. “It’s the least I could do.”

She sighed. “Come on.”

Tom fell into step beside her and hit the button to call the elevator. She leaned her head against the elevator wall once they were inside; it was then that the first tear fell from her eyes. With a shudder, she brushed it away and cleared her throat. She was not going to cry over this.

An arm encircled her shoulders. She appreciated Tom’s comfort and leaned against him. He hugged her close and pulled back. They rode the rest of the way down and walked to the lobby in silence. The place was still crawling with people. Tom stopped her by the exit and pulled her into a quiet alcove. 

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Thank you, Tom.”

A small smile curved his lips. “I apologize for any slight the male sex has made toward you. You don’t deserve it. We can be tossers.”

Giuliana laughed at him. It felt good to laugh. To relieve the tension. “Yes, you can be.”

“Are you okay to get home?” he asked.

“I’m completely sober now,” she replied. “I’ll text you to let you know I got home safe.”

Tom nodded. “Goodnight, Giuli.”

“Goodnight,” she said and sighed. She pulled away from him and went outside to find the valet stand. It was only when she finally got into her car and drove away that the tears truly started to fall.

\---

Chris watched the door as it closed behind Tom and punched the wall in anger, both thankful and pissed that it hadn’t left a mark. He would have definitely felt better if his fist had gone through the wall. And then the pain would have distracted him from the unimpressed looks both Hemsworth and Robert were shooting him from across the room. He knew them well enough to know they weren’t just going to let this go. He was going to hear about being a jerk whether he wanted to or not.

“You seriously need to take a chill pill, man,” Robert said. “What happened to your meditating?”

Chris shot his friend a glare, but Robert was undeterred. 

“Meditating isn’t going to stop him from being a prick,” said a small voice from the couch. Hemsworth turned a bit to reveal Elsa, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch and flipping through a magazine as though this happened every day. “That is engrained.”

“I’m not a prick,” Chris defended and looked at the two men. “We were kids! I couldn’t help it. You know you both thought with your dicks back then.”

“You all _still_ think with them. It doesn’t matter what age you are,” Elsa remarked. She tossed the magazine down on the table in front of her and stood up. She pushed past her husband and stopped in front of him, crossing her arms, looking him up and down. “The fact that you abandoned her on several occasions is more telling of your lack of chivalry than thinking with your dick.”

Chris scoffed.

Elsa continued. “Their dancing was not that bad. I’ve seen worse on reality shows… it was just a dance! It’s your fault for not noticing how unhappy Giuliana was after the first hour of being ignored. I don’t blame her at all.”

“She said she was fine. She said to go do my thing,” Chris said.

“A woman’s concept of time is different than ours,” Hemsworth said. 

Elsa turned and arched a brow at him. The big man was quelled by the tiny Spanish woman.

“What I mean is that I’m not going to leave Elsa completely alone all night even if she tells me to go off,” he said. “And I certainly know better than to let a Playboy model hang all over me.”

“That’s right,” Elsa said.

Chris knew Hemsworth would be missing some very important anatomy if that were the case. Of course, he might already be missing it with how whipped he was. He just didn’t want to hear this. It wasn’t right for Giuliana to be rubbing up against another guy anyway, just like it wouldn’t be okay for Elsa to be doing it with someone.

“Look, I’m still intoxicated and this isn’t going to do me any good,” Chris said. “I’m going to bed. Please show yourselves out.”

Chris turned around and went into the bedroom, shutting and locking the door.

“You’re not getting out of this that easy,” Downey called as the door closed behind them.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone! Sorry about the wait on this chapter... I've been without internet for a few days, but nonetheless I hope you enjoy it! :D

_A few weeks later…_

Giuliana sighed for the fiftieth time that afternoon, angry once again with a difficult computer system that kept freezing on her. Just for once she wanted something to go right in her life. It always seemed to come in pairs like this. Something great would happen—like a huge promotion offered, followed by something shitty—a sacrifice in losing perhaps the only meaningful relationship she’d ever wanted. This morning hadn’t been free of the duality that she had become accustomed to: she’d received word from the real estate agent that within two days of putting her house on the market, it was under contract for a considerable profit. Her negative was that she had to deal with being unproductive at work, exacerbated by the fact that she was sad and unhappy.

Chris had called against last night, and she’d ignored him like she had the countless other times he’d tried to get in touch with her since the night of his party. She wasn’t ready to forgive him yet, not for the taking for granted part, but for what he’d insinuated about her dancing with Michel. In the harsh light of the following day, she’d known that she had probably gone a little overboard, but it still hurt her that Chris had thought such nasty things about her. What gave him the right? Alcohol or no alcohol, it was just wrong for him to say anything like that. It pissed her off, and he deserved the silent treatment. She was done going back groveling for attention. If he wanted her back, he had better come back to her on his knees and kissing her feet.

She huffed at the computer as it finally switched screens to the accounting program she wanted. The replacement chef would be arriving in a half hour for a dinner service and she still hadn’t finished her paperwork. While it would be good to have the paperwork to go over with the new executive chef, she also didn’t want to be slowed down by the troublesome electronics. They had a very limited time tonight to get through everything before her flight the next morning to New York to move in to her temporary corporate condo.

By now, Giuliana was used to this constant upheaval in her life. After culinary school, she’d been employed by Michel as a line cook in his first restaurant in France. When he’d grown the business, she’d become sous chef at his New York store. She’d literally been given that job one day, and the next had hopped a flight for La Guardia. Then there was Chicago—her first executive position. He’d given her a month notice for that move, and it was easy to close up her life in New York with only a small rented apartment to leave. A few years later, Miami’s executive chef had been fired last minute before a grand opening and she’d been sent down there until a replacement could be found. That had turned into two years sleeping on the couch of a fellow coworker. It was only then that Michel had opened up the Las Vegas restaurant and she’d moved out with a promise of permanence. Unfortunately, that permanence was only a fleeting four years. The cycle was starting all over, only this time she’d be traveling all the time without any real home base, even if all of her things inhabited one living space in New York.

Though this change was all happening so fast, she was grateful that her mind was preoccupied with work. If it hadn’t been preoccupied, she knew she’d be worrying about Chris and second guessing her decision to ignore Chris until he changed. There had been a million times in the past fourteen days that Giuliana had questioned taking this promotion. She knew it would be the best thing for her career, but at this point—even if Chris were in or out of the picture—she wasn’t sure it was what she truly wanted. She wanted constancy. She wanted to be around friends and family. She wanted to see them on holidays. She wanted to be her own person, not someone else’s person. She didn’t want to be someone who dropped everything they were doing just to accommodate a boss… or a boyfriend. Being at Michel’s beck and call, to be there only when he needed it, was the same thing Chris had done to her. Personally and professionally, it just didn’t sit well with her.

She didn’t want to end up like Michel—in his late forties, without a family and somewhat self absorbed. He was worth millions, but he had nothing else in his life. It just wasn’t something she wanted. The last holiday she had actually spent with her family in Boston had been Labor Day about twelve years ago before she went to France. She’d visited them once since then for a few days when her maternal grandfather had died.

Her phone rang beside her, playing the ubiquitous Star-Spangled Banner she had come to loathe. Giuliana grumbled and ignored the call, waiting for it to go to message. He had stopped leaving her messages after the first five; he didn’t leave her one this time.

“Why don’t you answer it instead of staring at it longingly?” said a voice in the room.

Giuliana jumped, realizing that Libby had come back into the office silently. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”

“How are you ever going to get over this hiccup if you never talk to him?” Libby asked.

“I’m not ready,” she said.

Libby sighed. “Giuliana, he loves you.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Giuliana said. “That’s not the point.”

“Don’t you love him? People who are in love work this shit out,” Libby said. “For all you know, he wants to apologize.”

“Look,” Giuliana replied and met her friend’s eyes. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m tired and stressed, and my replacement is arriving in an hour to get started on the dinner service. Please go do your job, and I will do my job and everyone will get along.”

“Geez, you don’t have to be such a bitch,” Libby said. She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and turned to leave the office.

Giuliana groaned and rested her forehead on the desk. “Wait! Don’t go. I’m sorry.”

Libby came back into the room. “That’s what I thought. If working for Michel is going to do this to you, I don’t think you should take the job… this is besides the fact that working for Michel will cause problems with Chris after what happened. That is, if you ever pull your head out of your ass and get over it.”

“I can’t pass up this opportunity.”

“What ever happened to your dream of having your own family with a wonderful husband and beautiful children?”

Giuliana sighed and lifted her head, looking at Libby.

“What about opening your own restaurant?”

“Do you know how much it costs to open up a restaurant?” 

Libby pursed her lips. “Uh… yeah, you know being a restaurant GM and all. It’s not impossible. I know you’ve been putting money away for it.”

“It’s still not enough,” she said. “I need twice as much to open a restaurant, just to have the capital back up.”

“Get a loan,” Libby said. 

Giuliana nodded.

“You need to stop saying ‘I can’t’ and start saying ‘I can,’” Libby replied. “You are more than capable of having a successful restaurant yourself. One where you make the rules… and at a location where you want to be.”

“It’s not that simple. There’s all this stuff I would have to do to open a restaurant… to make it. The marketing alone to get butts in the seats…”

Libby crossed her arms over her chest. “Cause you don’t have one of the best business managers in the Southwest staring you in the face?”

“I don’t want to open one up in Las Vegas, Libby,” she said. “I would want to do it East Coast.”

“Boston?”

“Probably.”

“Oh, wait, let me think about this.” Libby held out her hands as though she were weighing her options. “I can continue raising my kids in Las Vegas where I have no control over what they are exposed to from drugs to prostitution to tattoos and piercings and alcohol and… and sin… or Massachusetts, the sleepy New England state with cute, sleepy little towns.”

“Where we measure snow in feet, caffeine-swilling hipster kids busk on street corners, and have all of the same things you’re worried about in Las Vegas,” Giuliana said.

“But you always said how quiet and family oriented the town where you grew up was,” Libby said. 

Giuliana sighed and nodded her head. She knew what Libby was trying to say. Raising kids in Las Vegas wasn’t anyone's dream, and she didn't blame her friend for wanting to get out. The only reason Libby was in Las Vegas was because her husband had been stationed here. “Libby, it’s unstable for the kids. The restaurant could go belly up and you will be out of a job and have no money… I don’t want to endanger you or them.”

“I have survivor’s benefits from Matt,” Libby said. “The kids will always be taken care of.”

“What about Matt's mother?” 

Libby pursed her lips. “Let me work on her… that is if you’re seriously thinking about this.”

“I’m a little more than serious, Lib,” she said. "I don't want to be Michel's lackey any more."

“When are you going to tell everyone?”

“Soon.”

“And Chris? What are you going to do about that?”

“One major life change at a time,” Giuliana said. “He can wait.”

At least, Giuliana hoped he could wait, because regardless of the decision to move home or not, she still wasn’t certain she wanted to forgive him.

\---

By the time Chris made it back to Europe to resume filming his current movie, he knew he was well and surely fucked. His flight had been early the morning after his party, and it had left him no time to try to patch things over with Giuliana. He knew he was in the wrong. How could he not be the guilty party here? He was too friendly with people and he was a sucker for pretty girls, even if he wouldn’t actually cheat on his girlfriend. That wasn’t the type of guy he was. But, after the fight with Giuliana, he knew he _was_ the type of guy to take people for granted.

It was with that knowledge that he realized he had a lot to learn. Giuliana didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. She never had. Not once had he consciously noticed doing this to her, but now that he looked back on their friendship, he felt ashamed of himself. But she also wasn’t completely free of sin. She had a voice… one he actually listened to on occasion. She could have told him he was being a prick. He may not have changed much as an adult; however, had she said something to him at the party, he would have fixed it.

Still, though, he knew it was his problem. Compounding matters was the fact that she refused to take his calls so he couldn’t even apologize now that he had a clear head and some perspective. He refused to let her go that easily, though. He knew he’d had an amazing thing over the short span of his trip to Las Vegas… and an even more amazing thing for seventeen years. He wasn’t about to let his stupidity get in the way of what he was sure might be the only true happiness left for him in the world.

Chris set his phone back down on the table in front of him and sighed, looking at the mean little Blackberry. Why wouldn’t she just answer? Why were women like this? Why couldn’t they just end it or get over it like a guy? He reached for the open script he’d pushed aside and placed it in front of him. However, his eyes were unseeing as he tried to read. He kept looking back at the phone and wishing she would call him.

As though he willed it, the phone started ringing, but not with the caller he wanted. It was his publicist. He put the phone to his ear and sighed. “What?”

“Nice to talk to you, too,” said the voice on the other end.

“Sorry, Susan,” he replied. “What do you need?”

The woman chuckled. “What’s your schedule like when you’re done filming Snow Piercer?”

“I have absolutely nothing but personal rest and relaxation planned until early next year when the Cap sequel starts filming,” he said. 

“Can I at least get you into some interviews?” she asked.

“Uh, let me think about that,” he paused, “that’s a big, fat NO.”

“You need to do some major cover after that whole Las Vegas kerfuffle,” she said.

Chris frowned. “It wasn’t a kerfuffle.”

“Well, from a PR standpoint, yeah, it was,” she replied. “And I’m still getting calls about it.”

“I’m not about to do more mindless interviews about my preferences in the female sex,” he said. “I am not single and, really, those types of interviews are so annoying. I’m thirty-one years old. I’m not twenty any more where that should matter. It’s none of their business.”

Susan sighed. “The public has an awfully different perspective on what they think should be their business.”

“I’m not doing it,” he said. “I am going home and I am not coming out of hiding until after the new year.”

“Please,” she said.

“No,” he replied. “Now I really need to get back to reading my script before I’m due on set.”

“Alright,” she replied. “I’ll chat with you later.”

She hung up her line and he looked at the phone. Now, to concentrate.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I said how awesome ya'll are? Cause you are! Enjoy this update. I know it's sadly devoid of Chris, but never fear. I will make up for it soon. ;-)

A week later, Giuliana stood in the middle of a cavernous, gutted building, looking at damaged drywall and ceilings, water stains and dirt trying to picture it completely renovated and operating as a restaurant. At the moment, it seemed impossible. Just like it seemed impossible that in matter of yet another handful of days her life had changed yet again. This time, though, it felt right, despite the unappealing look of the rundown building and the mammoth headache ahead of her. She just had to keep reminding herself that it would be completely different after the builders were finished with it.

“So…”

She looked up at the sound of Kara’s voice. She was one of Chris’ friends—his other best girl friend that had always been nice to her growing up, despite her popular girl status—and it had been easy to work with her over the last few days. Though Kara was newer to the business, she knew the hotspots in Boston, which was invaluable to someone who hadn’t been back to the city in a very long time.

“What do you think of it?”

“It’s a mess,” Giuliana said. “How much are they asking again?”

“Four hundred thousand,” she said. “We can probably whittle it down a lot because of the amount of work that has to go into it.”

“I need to get a few contractors in here to give me some estimates on renovations before we commit to anything.” Giuliana pursed her lips together and looked around again.

“When you have the appointments, let me know and I can be out here to meet them.” Kara smiled. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Giuliana let out a snort of laughter. “I haven’t a clue. I don’t even have a concept yet. We’re still really early.”

Kara nodded. “You know, all of this… you deciding to give up everything to come back here for Chris is so romantic.”

“I’m not coming back for him.” Giuliana may have been repeating the words, but they didn’t mean anything. She knew the catalyst to this decision was Chris, and though she wasn’t speaking to him, they would eventually work past their issues. She had faith that they would.

“Yeah,” Kara gave her a skeptical look. “All I’m saying is that he deserves someone like you, Giuliana. I’ve watched him all these years when you weren’t around, going from chick to chick... and none of them have loved _him_ for all of his good qualities and his faults, too.”

She sighed and adjusted the purse on her shoulder. “We have a lot of stuff to work through.”

 

“Who doesn’t?” Kara laughed. “What I do know is that he loves you and judging from the look on your face, you love him, too.”

“I do,” Giuliana said.

Kara sighed and stepped beside her, looking long and hard at one of the gutted walls. “You know I’m seeing him at a wedding this weekend in Colorado.”

“I know, he mentioned something about it while he was in Vegas,” she said. “Please don’t tell him anything about me being here.”

“How do you plan to get Lisa to keep the secret? You _have_ gone to see her already, haven’t you?” Kara asked.

“Uh, no,” Giuliana said. “I’m staying at a hotel right now. I didn’t want anyone to know yet. I haven’t even told my mom and dad I’ve moved back.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I just wanted a few days to get things in order before I deal with the crazy.”

“I’ve got a lot of rentals I could get you into like tomorrow,” she said. “One really close to Chris.”

“I don’t want to rent,” Giuliana replied. “If I rent, and Chris and I work out, then we have two places and we only need one.”

“Trust me, you’ll want your own place,” Kara said. “He’s living with Zach right now… you don’t want to deal with the stupid bachelor meathead.”

“Zach Manning from school?” 

Kara nodded. “The same.”

“Hrm,” Giuliana said.

“I know!” Kara exclaimed. “I tried to talk Chris out of it… but you know Chris. Once he’s got it in his mind, there’s no changing it. He thought he could leave East with Zach while away on a work trip… what a catastrophe that was. I had to go rescue East within three days because Zach was never home to take him out on a walk.”

Giuliana shrugged. “Men are idiots.”

“You’re telling me,” Kara replied.

Giuliana sighed and turned around, walking carefully through the debris to the front of the building. Kara followed behind her and as they stepped back out onto the street, Giuliana glanced at her. “I don’t want to figure out my living situation until Chris and I figure each other out, because things might be changing very quickly.”

Kara looked at her seriously. “ _How_ quickly are we talking? Are we talking a house in the next nine months, or we can wait a little bit, but you’ll start looking for a house soonish?”

“What?! Oh, god, no!” Giuliana said. “No, I’m not pregnant. I just mean, before he left, we were talking about the possibility of marriage.”

Kara squealed and threw herself at Giuliana, hugging her close. “Really?!”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Giuliana said. “Still a lot to talk through… but in the meantime, I do need to find a place for my friend, Libby, who will be my business manager. I’ll be paying that rental out of a business account as part of her salary.”

“Where are we talking?” Kara asked.

“Suburbs. Probably around Sudbury. She has a two year old and a four year old,” Giuliana said.

“You know, I just listed Lisa’s old house for rent or sale,” Kara said. “It’s completely updated, furnished… the whole nine.”

“How much?”

“Twenty-five hundred a month rent or $399,000 purchase,” she said. “But I think we can probably work out a deal with Lisa once she knows it’s for you. She just loves you.”

“Does she?”

Kara laughed. “Do you know what it’s like to be constantly compared and measured to the ideal _you_ created in her mind of the perfect girl for Chris? It’s really tiring. I can’t believe you ever doubted her love. You were perfect to her growing up, despite the, er, Goth thing.”

Giuliana chuckled. “Really? I didn’t know.”

“Giuliana, there’s a lot you’ve got to learn,” Kara said. “But we’ll do that slowly… I have another appointment in a half hour and need to head over there. Just give me a call and let me know about the rental. The listing is on my website so you can send it to your friend.”

“Awesome,” Giuliana said. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Kara replied. She quickly locked doors and placed the keys back in the lockbox. “I’ll see you later.”

Kara waved as she climbed in her car and pulled out onto the road. Giuliana sighed and went to her own car, her mind swimming with everything Kara had said. She picked her way through the tight traffic of the Financial District into Cambridge where her hotel was, but returning to the empty, clinical hotel suite didn’t really interest her at the moment. She wanted to go home. After all the talk with Kara, she realized she missed her parents and it wasn’t fair to them not to let them know what was going on. And she needed a hug. A big, giant bear hug from her Papa.

She turned her car around and headed in the direction of Concord. Her drive was relatively uneventful for Massachusetts traffic, and she pulled up the drive to her parents’ home within thirty minutes. The exterior of the house looked unassuming and quiet, with her parents’ vehicles parked carefully out front. Her just-retired father had apparently turned the garage into a workshop, pushing cars out onto the driveway. At least that’s what her mother had said in exasperation during a phone conversation a few months ago.

Giuliana got out of the car and sighed. Other than the garage, it was just like she remembered it, all East Coast ranch and white picket fence. She was halfway up the front walk when the door opened. Her mother appeared, looking excited and a little in disbelief.

“Oh my god! Giuliana! What are you doing here?!” Her tiny Italian mother enveloped her in her arms, hugging her tight against her body. Giuliana sighed in relief, feeling content in her mom’s arms. It was like she was a little kid again and the only thing that would make life better—take away all her worries—was her mother’s love.

“I came home,” Giuliana replied quietly. Sudden, unexpected tears welled in her eyes and it was everything she could do to swallow her emotion.

Her mother kissed her cheek and pulled back, looking her over as only a mother could—checking appearance, trying to read her mind, and forming her own opinions about the situation. “For how long?”

“Well, if everything goes right, for good,” Giuliana said.

Her mother’s dark eyes narrowed at her curiously, the left corner of her mouth curving into a smile, though she tried desperately to remain impassive. “Come inside and see your father, then you can tell us both what’s going on.”

Giuliana followed her mom into the house, instantly overcome by the smell of home cooked Italian food. No matter the years of experience she had in cuisine of all types, or her natural skill and talent, she had never been able to capture whatever it was about her family’s recipes that made them so amazing.

Her father was busy stirring a pot, lifting the spoon out of the pot, tasting the red sauce and placing it back in the pot. Giuliana cringed and had to giggle at herself. He wasn’t in a restaurant. He could do that.

“Who was outside, Franny,” he asked, turning around and wiping his hands on his apron. “Oh! What the hell! Gigi!”

“Papa!” she exclaimed as he pulled her into his arms. He smelled of onions and garlic, exactly how she remembered him; though he had not cooked as a career, her father had always been the chef in their family. His grip on her did not relax as he kissed the top of her head.

“This is a surprise!” he said when he finally stepped back. “An amazing surprise!”

His goatee was nearly silver to match his closely cropped salt and pepper hair, much more so than it had been when they had visited Las Vegas a few years ago for Christmas. Actually, now that she looked at both of her parents, each had gone much grayer. Her mom had stopped dying her hair and had cut it short into a cute pixie. It made her much fiercer than she’d been with the long hair she’d had for the last thirty years.

“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? Dinner will be ready in an hour…” her father started.

“No, I’m fine, Papa,” she laughed.

Fran placed a hand on her father’s arm. “Joseph, your daughter said she has something to tell us.”

“Don’t make it sound so terrible, Mama,” she said. “I hope its good news to you.”

“What?” Joseph frowned.

“I quit my job,” she replied.

“But you said you took that promotion,” he said.

Giuliana smiled. “I _did_ take it, but I quit. I don’t want to do it. I want to open my own place. Here, in Boston.”

“But… why?” Her father’s confusion was evident on his face. He’d always been the one to push her to the next level. “Michel offered you a huge opportunity.”

“I know he did,” she said. “But I can only have one man controlling my life, not two, and definitely not if they both dislike each other.”

Her mother seemed to understand, but her father was still confused. “She means she’s moving home to be closer to Chris.”

“If we can work our issues out,” she replied. “But I also miss you two, too. I want to slow down and reconnect with my family. Spending time with Chris for his birthday really made me see how much I was missing. I know I said I always wanted to go out and do grand things, but having experienced a little bit of life, I’ve realized I want to be at home with people who love me and who I love.”

Her parents remained silent when she finished, their eyes glassy. She couldn’t tell if it was tears of emotion they were trying to hold back or if they just didn’t understand. But why wouldn’t they understand? They were both highly intelligent adults.

“Please tell me this means I might get some grandkids out of this,” her mother remarked, breaking the silent tension.

Giuliana couldn’t contain her laughter. “Really, Mama, that’s what we’re going with?”

“What? With only you to give me grandbabies, I’ve been worrying,” she said. “It’s my prerogative to worry.”

“Mama, please don’t worry about it,” Giuliana said. “When Chris gets back and after we get settled in, we’ll discuss it.”

“Get married first,” her father said.

“I promise, Papa.” Giuliana chuckled. 

“So you’re back permanently?” her mother asked.

Giuliana nodded.

“What about your house in Vegas?”

“Sold it,” she said. “Well, it’ll be done in a few weeks… but I sold most of it and packed up all the rest. I’ve been in town the last few days working with Kara to find restaurant space.”

“Where are you staying?”

“At the Marriot near MIT,” she said.

“What! I can’t believe you would stay at a hotel and not even tell us you were here! You know you always have a bedroom here!” Her father was angry. She knew he would be, when he found out his daughter hadn’t come straight home to see him. “You are going to get your things and coming home now.”

“I already paid for the night,” she replied. “And I have another meeting in the morning in Boston about some loans. I’ll come over afterward. I had planned on waiting until then to come by, but I changed my mind.”

“You are staying for dinner,” her father said, brooking no argument.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she replied. “What are we having?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” he said, turning back to the food, the conversation effectively ended. 

Giuliana breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her parents hadn’t flipped out over her decisions. They actually seemed somewhat at peace with the whole thing. As though they had been preparing for something like this. Or, hoping for it. She laughed and shook her head, feeling the phone in her pocket vibrate.

She pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was from Michel.

_Will be arriving at Logan at 8 AM. A car is picking me up and taking me to the law office, will meet you there._

_Great. See you then._ She hit enter and sighed. Though she wasn’t sure it was the best idea to keep Michel around as a silent investor, she couldn’t very well say no to his very gracious offer to help her with her new endeavor. He’d been disappointed that she resigned, but he’d also been incredibly understanding and supportive. So supportive that he had offered to match her savings in an interest free loan as a small bit of seed money. She’d still have to get a loan from the bank for the mortgage of a building, but his donation was incredibly generous and it was a load off her shoulders. 

Maybe it was because Libby still hadn’t told him she was leaving.

Giuliana stuffed her phone back in her pocket and allowed her mother to pull her into conversation about things that took her mind off of her own worries. She could start anew tomorrow, when she was fresh. For now she was going to enjoy spending time with her family.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For you amazing people. Thank you for your support! Enjoy this one!

Chris sighed unhappily as he sunk down into a chair at the round banquet table, a nearly empty beer bottle in hand. He was exhausted from plane trips and filming and time changes and sleepless nights. All he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for the next century. Unfortunately, he wanted to curl up with someone else, despite the fact that the certain someone else he had in mind seemed to care less about trying to work their issues out. He was both hurt and angry about it, especially after their years of history together. Clearly she was upset, but he’d hoped he could smooth it over with her and move on. She didn’t seem to see it that way.

He just couldn’t believe she’d leave it like that. He’s always thought she was a fighter. That she would fight for something she wanted. Apparently, he’d misjudged her or she really had changed that much. It made him sick to think that his soul mate refused to work on this.

A body slid into the chair beside him and he looked up, first focusing on the ugly pink bridesmaids’ dress she was wearing, and then meeting her eyes. “What do you want?” he asked.

Kara smiled. “Just came over to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Tired.”

“Just a week left,” she said. “Then you’ll be home.”

He nodded and sipped his beer. “Do you think I’m a jerk?”

“Right this instant?” she asked. “No.”

Chris rolled his eyes and turned back to look out on the dance floor where their friends were dancing together. “I hate weddings.”

“Why?” she asked.

“They’re all so depressing,” he said.

Kara laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Oh, lighten up sourpuss. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Everyone’s getting married,” he said. “It’s really depressing. Brian and Mary now… and you in September. What am I going to do?”

“Get married,” she said.

Chris sighed. “Easier said than done when the woman I want to marry refuses to talk to me.”

“So you do want to marry her?” Kara asked.

He looked at her, askance. Did he really have to answer that? Kara could already see it in his eyes. She knew him well enough by now to realize this wasn’t going away.

“Why did you ask in that tone?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kara said. “I’m just curious.”

“You’re not just curious. There’s something else,” he replied. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I think lack of sleep and booze has finally gone to your head.”

“Did she say something to you?” he asked.

Kara pursed her lips.

“I didn’t even know you two were on talking terms,” Chris replied.

“Can we please stop talking about it?”

“No!” he said, sitting up and leaning over. “Tell me what you know.”

“I promised I wouldn’t.”

Chris scoffed. “What is it?!”

Kara sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “Giuliana is going to kill me. She needs to know that I can’t be trusted with secrets, especially where you’re concerned.”

“What do you know?”

She grumbled. “All I can say is that home is where the heart is.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It takes a little higher order thinking, Chris. Take a minute and think it through,” she said and stood up. “I’m going back to dancing before I say anything else I’m not at liberty to discuss.”

She disappeared into the crowd just as a million questions formulated in his head. Home is where the heart is? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Why did women have to be so fucking cryptic all the time?

“… where the heart…” he muttered himself, but realization finally dawned. She wasn’t back in Boston, was she? She couldn’t be. It just didn’t make sense. He stood up quickly and banged his knee on the table top, rattling plates and glasses, drawing attention despite the loudness of the live band playing. Chris blushed and searched the room for his friend, finding her talking to someone across the dance floor. He pushed his way through the throng of dancers, grabbing Kara’s arm and pulling her out into the center of the room, grasping her to him so she couldn’t get away.

“Is she in Boston?” he asked.

Kara held his eyes. “Yes.”

“Why is she in Boston?”

“She moved back to Boston,” Kara said.

“I thought she was moving to New York.”

“She changed her mind. Apparently something about this guy I know,” Kara remarked. “She just can’t seem to get him off her mind.”

Chris felt his face flush. “Really?”

“She’s decided to open her own restaurant. I’ve spent the last week with her looking at possible locations,” she said.

He couldn’t explain the excitement going through him, but it was tempered by the realization that she still refused to speak to him. Why wouldn’t she talk to him if she had done all this, presumably, _for_ him. It was the explanation for her sudden change of heart to move back home—to where he called home base—after so many years of being gone.

“How do you know she did it for me?”

“Because she told me she doesn’t want to rent an apartment or a house until she figures out what’s going on with you,” Kara replied. “Seems to think you might be moving in together soon.”

“This is all news to me!” he said exasperatedly.

“Good news, I hope?” she asked.

He pursed his lips. “I hope so, too.”

Chris released his hold on Kara and stepped back from her. “I have to go.”

“What? We’re not done yet being Brian and Mary’s lackeys.”

“I’m going to Boston,” he said. “I have to make arrangements.”

“But you have to work,” she replied.

“I’m not staying, just stopping over,” he replied. “I have to talk to her… see her… just for a little bit.”

“I didn’t think you had one romantic bone in your body, Chris.” Kara said and hugged him quickly. “Go sweep her off her feet.”

He saluted her and laughed, turning on the dance floor and heading outside to find a quiet place to make some calls.

\----

Giuliana tried in vain to bury deeper into her covers in hopes that by doing so the annoying chiming would stop. It didn’t stop, and only seemed to become more insistent. Why the hell wasn’t anyone stopping it? She struggled to pull herself up to sit on the edge of the twin bed, using the heels of her hands to rub her eyes. 

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” she murmured to herself in a blissful moment of silence.

It felt like a Mack truck had run her over and then backed up. Her body was heavy and lethargic, dehydrated and sore after a night of dancing and drinking out with a few of her old friends from high school. The music had been loud enough that her ears were still fuzzy… of course, that had only been a few hours ago when they’d left the club and had come home, so she hadn’t given then enough time to heal.

And the chiming refused to stop.

She removed her hands from her eyes, and yawned as she stood, pulling the large black tank top down her belly. It barely covered her tiny boy shorts, but it was enough to answer the door. She trudged downstairs into the kitchen where she went directly for the refrigerator and a water bottle.

The icy liquid felt good going down her parched throat, waking her up a little more. She set the bottle down on the counter when the doorbell rang yet again. Her mother had written a note on the small whiteboard on the refrigerator. They’d gone to church, which explained why no one was answering the door.

Giuliana grumbled, scratched her rat’s nest of hair and lumbered through the house to the front door. No one was outside. She frowned and opened the door, stepping out slightly to look around. “Hello?” she said to the wind.

No one replied. She frowned to herself. Had she imagined the ringing? Was she still somewhat drunk? God, had she been dreaming?

Giuliana closed the door and locked it, frowning at the handle. That was when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. There was a creak on the old wood floor behind her, followed by arms encircling her waist and pulling her back against a hard body. She screamed, struggling against the assailant. The hold was strong, but it wasn’t completely unyielding and she whipped around to face the intruder.

And then she let him have it.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” she exclaimed, pushing at his chest angrily. “Jesus fuck, Chris! Don’t sneak up on people like that! How the hell did you get in?”

“Your mom always leaves the back door open,” he said.

“Why the fuck didn’t you just do that like ten minutes ago instead of continually ringing the damn doorbell? You ruined a perfectly good REM cycle,” she exclaimed.

He looked sheepish and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants. The adrenaline was still coursing through her body. She felt jittery and had to move, but something rooted her in place as she looked at him. He seemed tired. Incredibly tired. There were dark half moons under bloodshot eyes. The white tuxedo shirt looked rumbled beneath the black suspenders, but the first few buttons were unbuttoned delectably to reveal a bit of his chest. Against her will, her tongue flicked out and she quickly turned away and walked past him back into the kitchen for her water bottle. 

If he expected to be forgiven after pulling that stunt, he had another thing coming.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I’m guessing Kara couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

“To be fair, I badgered when she let something slip.” He came around the kitchen island and stood with his hip resting against the counter in an oh-so-sexy way in those well-tailored tuxedo pants.

Giuliana entertained herself by drinking her water. It, sadly, didn’t take her mind off of the attractive man looking at her speculatively across the kitchen. She wanted to go to him. She wanted him to hold her again. But not yet. She couldn’t let him touch her yet. She knew that as soon as he did, she’d be unable to resist him.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She pursed her lips. “For what?”

“Anything I have ever done to hurt you,” he said. “I wasn’t aware I was doing anything… and I guess I just want to say, if you’ll have me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

“That’s really cliché, Chris,” she said.

He shrugged and smiled that adorable little boy smile. “I heard it in a movie once.”

It made her giggle. “I’ll give you tomorrow, and then tomorrow I’ll decide about the next day… and we’ll go from there. How ‘bout that?”

“I’ll take whatever I can get, Giuli,” he replied. “I love you. I never stopped. At the party… I wasn’t interested in the other chicks… honestly. We were just talking.”

She sighed heavily. “I know that. I was just being insecure. No, I _am_ insecure. I’ve learned to mask it really well over the years—or at least forget about it for a bit—but it’s always there. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to see me like you saw other girls, and the first test of you being around them, I flipped. I’m sorry for that.”

“Giuli, I’m going to be surrounded by pretty girls,” he said. “That’s the nature of my job.”

“I know it is.”

“You have to trust me that though they may be pretty, I’m going to be coming home to you at night,” he said. “I know it wasn’t right for me to do what I did in high school… all those times I left you high and dry, but I have every intention of integrating you in all parts of my life.”

“And what if I don’t get along with everything in your life?” she asked. “I’m still me. I still rub people the wrong way. What if your old friends are still jerks about it? Are you gonna listen to them? I don’t think I’d survive you choosing them over me again.”

He smiled and took a few steps forward, reaching out for her. His hands clenched her waist and drug her to him. “They can stuff it. I’m serious about this Giuli. Like heart attack serious. I want to prove to you that I’ve changed.”

She sighed in his mouth as his lips crashed over hers, pulling her along in a body numbing, searing exchange. Three weeks had been too long to go without him. And yet, she also knew he was doing everything in his power to convey his meaning through this kiss. She understood him, loud and clear. How had she lasted three whole weeks?

“I love you, Chris,” she murmured against his lips.

“I know,” he replied.

She giggled. “Thanks, Han.”

“Anytime, Leia,” he replied.

“You’re such a nerd.”

“You know it.” His hands gripped her hips and lifted her up, placing her on the cool stone countertop that he’d pressed her against. She squeaked at the cold on her skin, realizing that her underwear did not provide as much coverage as she had initially thought. His lips knew her so well, stopping just behind her ear for a moment before trailing across her jaw. Air ceased to fill her lungs as his sure hands slipped up beneath the cloth of her big shirt. Warm hands grazed breasts. A shiver traveled the length of her body and curled around the tightening nipples his palms had teased.

She grasped at the suspenders on his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist as she tried to pull him closer, but it was useless. So she scooted forward, aching for the feeling of him pressed against her center. He rewarded her by positioning her just so on the ledge as she rotated her hips against him. She could feel the smile of his lips on her neck, followed by a low, pleased groan as she struggled with the zipper on his pants and slipped her hand beneath the fabric.

However, everything changed in an instant. It was like someone had poured ice water on him as he tensed against her stopped his ministrations. His hands dropped out from under her shirt, but he didn’t bodily move away from her.

“What is it?”

“Your parents are home.” It was muffled against her neck, but she heard it as though he had shouted it. The flush that had spread across her body from his attention only amplified to burning as she carefully arranged him back in his pants, zipped up his zipper and fastened the button.

He shifted away from her and she jumped from the counter, quickly pushing her shirt down the rest of the way to cover her hips. After a few seconds, she’d pulled together enough courage to turn around. Her parents stood immobile in the entrance to the kitchen, both with surprise etching their faces, but they didn’t seem upset. 

“Mama… Papa…” she squeaked, unable to meet their eyes. She glanced up at Chris who, though apologetic, was not nearly as embarrassed as she. She envied his poise in the situation, but that made her wonder just how often he’d been caught in a similar situation. Oh, the stories Lisa must be able to tell. “You’re back from church early.”

“Mass is now at 8:30 instead of 9:30,” her father remarked. “Welcome back, Christopher.”

“Mr. DeMarco,” Chris said with a nod of his head.

“I think we’re past the Mr. and Mrs. DeMarcos now, aren’t we?” her mother said.

Chris scratched the back of his neck. “Yep, I would think so.”

“I’m so sorry,” Giuliana said. “I didn’t know… we’re not…”

Her father held up a hand to stop her. “Gigi, you’re thirty. If this is the worst thing we ever catch you doing, then I consider myself lucky.”

“And let’s face it, you never did anything like this while you were a kid. It’s nice to know that you’re not a total square,” her mother remarked.

“Mama, please,” she said.

“But this does somewhat remind me of that Sunday morning after the senior prom when Chris came for breakfast,” her mother continued.

“The one I didn’t go to,” Giuliana replied. “Because I didn’t have a date.”

She heard the stifled huff Chris made. “I would have had a lot more fun with you. I was an idiot not to recognize it.”

“I can’t say much has changed… you were wearing the remnants of a tuxedo, Chris,” her mother still wouldn’t stop.

“Mama, please,” Giuliana begged.

“And you were wearing black and had terrible eye makeup, like you do now,” she pointed out.

Giuliana frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Did you fall asleep in your makeup?”

She groaned. Of course she had. And she knew how much black shadow, mascara and eyeliner she’d had on the night before to go to the Goth club for old times’ sake. Now it was apparently all over the place. “I went out with Abby and Toni last night,” she said.

Chris nodded his head. He knew both of those names well. Abby had become a soccer mom, with pastel sweater sets, minivan and everything else. Toni hadn’t changed a bit.

“Okay,” Giuliana said. “This is just getting weirder and weirder. I’m going upstairs and getting cleaned up. Do you want to come with me, Chris?”

He looked at her longingly. She knew he did, but his better manners prevented him from following her up the stairs. “Fine. I’ll be back down in a bit.”

“You want breakfast?” her father asked. 

“Yes,” she said.

“Chris?”

Chris looked at his watch. “Sure. I’m starving.”

“Of course you are,” Giuliana replied. She turned to leave, but stopped short and stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek. He grinned as she turned back around. If he wanted to deal with the awkwardness, then he could. She, on the other hand, was going to go lock herself in her room and never come out.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone! I will be wrapping this story up soon, but until then, continue to enjoy it!

While he wasn’t exactly mortified having been caught with his hands in the cookie jar—so to speak—he was slightly uncomfortable. His mother and Fran were the closest of friends, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to maintain a close relationship with the DeMarcos when Giuliana hadn’t been in the picture. The result of that was feeling somewhat like an outsider, made worse by the fact that he’d been feeling up their daughter only a little while ago.

To his relief, they didn’t say much and instead turned to preparing breakfast. He was offered coffee and sent to sit down and relax. Meanwhile, he listened to the hush tones of Fran and Joe cooking together, being the adorable married couple they were. It was so different from the fights and general unhappiness he’d experiences between his own parents growing up. He loved it and he wanted that sort of happiness—that some thirty or so years after getting married he would still be in love. It made him smile. He could see _more_ than thirty years with Giuliana, and he couldn’t wait to make it permanent. But even that would have to wait until he came back from the Europe.

After a little while, he heard the sound of Giuliana on the creaky stairs, then speaking to her parents as she grabbed her own coffee. She appeared in the doorway, smiled over the ceramic rim as she sipped the hot liquid and came to sit with him. Her skin was still pink from the hot shower and her hair left damp and curly, but the makeup was gone and she wore a pair of jean shorts and a Red Sox shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, and she threw her legs over his, resting her head on his shoulder.

They sat in companionable silence for some time until he sighed and looked down at her. “So you’re here for good?”

“Yes,” she said. “I’m opening my own restaurant.”

“What changed your mind?”

“About?”

“Everything.”

“I was honored by Michel’s promotion,” she began, “but I never wanted it. Even though I took it in haste to teach you a lesson, my life goal wasn’t to be someone else’s right hand girl for the rest of my life. Like in Vegas, Libby and I basically ran that restaurant, but the glory always went to Michel even though he was hardly ever there. It was okay for a time, but I don’t want to be defined by him for the rest of my professional career. It’s time for me to go out on my own.”

“I understand,” he said. “I’m proud of you.”

She beamed at his words. But then she sighed. “I do need to be honest with you, though, Chris.”

Her tone did not bode well.

“What?”

“When I explained everything to Michel, he congratulated me and offered me some seed money to get started,” she said. “He is my friend—my mentor—and I won’t sever my relationship with him because you’ve decided not to like him.”

“Just so long as you don’t do what you did at the club, I will make do,” he said. “I’m sure my relationship with Kara is a little too close for comfort sometimes.”

Giuliana shrugged. “Kara and I see eye to eye. I get her place in your life. Hopefully over time you will actually sit down and talk to Michel and like him for who he is despite his incurable flirtatiousness.”

Chris nodded.

She looked at him seriously. “There’s something else, though, that you deserve to know.”

“What is that?” he asked, despite the fact that looking at her expression was enough to understand he _definitely_ wasn’t going to like what she had to tell him.

“Five years or so ago, when I was working in Miami for Michel, we went out, got drunk and slept together,” she said. “I hardly remember anything about it, but I know it happened.”

Chris clenched his jaw and bit his tongue, restraining the sudden jolt of anger that went through his body. It quickly faded, though, when he thought about it. That was the past. She’d slept with other men, and god knew he’d slept with a number of women. Of course, those women weren’t really in his life now, except for a few. He had no real right to be angry about it, did he?

“It was when we realized we were meant to be friends, not lovers,” she said. “As to where the opposite happened for us… you know, sometimes I think it had to happen that way so I’d be able to come to terms with the changes our own relationship.”

He nodded.

She sighed and separated from him for a moment, placing her coffee mug on the table in front of them. Then she climbed into his lap, straddling his legs and sitting back on his thighs. He really hoped her parents didn’t choose to walk in again, but there was nothing sexual about her movements. At least that’s what he realized when she leaned up, placed her delicate hands on his cheeks and moved his head so that they were eye-to-eye.

“I love you, Chris. You are the only man for me. Please remember that,” she said. 

“I’ll try,” he smiled, reaching up and brushing a curl out of her eyes and behind her ear. “And I love you, too.”

She grinned and kissed him. “How long are you in Boston?”

He turned his head and lifted his wrist to look at the watch. “Four more hours.”

“That’s it?” she asked.

“Yeah, my flight leaves at 2:30,” he said. “But I’ll be back next week.”

“I guess that’s not too terrible.”

Chris grinned and reached up, digging his fingers into her damp hair and pulling her head down to reach her lips again.

“Kids! Breakfast!”

Giuliana startled and started to sit back, but he held her securely against him. She giggled and struggled unconvincingly as she returned his kiss. Finally, she moved away, catching her breath. “That’s unfair.”

“Is it?” he asked.

She laughed. “Come on.”

Giuliana easily stood up and away from him. He grabbed her hand as soon as he’d pulled himself up and smiled. The kitchen table was filled with plates of bacon, sausage and eggs, making his stomach growl loudly in hunger. It reminded him that he hadn’t eaten in over twelve hours, and what he’d had then hadn’t been much because he’d preferred liquid refreshment to sustenance.

“My god, it smells amazing,” Chris said.

Fran laughed and pointed to a chair. “Sit down and eat!”

Giuliana grinned at him and slipped into a chair, grabbing for the bowl of fruit salad. Joe and Fran both found seats as well, the room becoming remarkably silent as they all enjoyed their breakfast together. Chris looked down only minutes later to realize he’d inhaled his food.

“There’s more over there, Chris,” Joe said. “Help yourself.”

And so he did.

When he returned, Giuliana looked at him with pursed lips. “I think it’s total shit that you can eat whatever you want and look like that.”

“Said every woman since the beginning of time,” Fran remarked.

He grinned and took a bit bite of his eggs. She shoved him playfully.

“Oh, don’t badger him, Giuli,” Fran said. “Lisa’ll just yell if she knows I didn’t take care of her baby.”

Chris knew his ears turned red at the mention of his mother. It was both his best and worst quality being a momma’s boy. “Speaking of which, don’t tell her I was in Boston.”

“You didn’t stop in to see her first?” Fran was reasonably surprised.

“I didn’t even stop to see my dog.” He darted his eyes over to Giuliana who was unable to keep a smile from lighting up her face, or to stop the blush that reddened her cheeks. She bowed her head and instead picked at the food left on her plate.

“Wow,” Fran said. “That’s serious.”

Chris nodded his head. “So don’t tell her. She’ll flip out if she knew I was here and didn’t at least stop by to say hi.”

Fran chuckled. “Of course not.”

Giuliana cleared her throat and looked around the table. She ended on him and smiled again. It was so nice to see it, instead of the consternation that had riddled her face the night of his party. God, he’d been such an idiot. He was fully aware, as he sat here, that he had well and truly lost any real right to his independence. Without any warning, he’d somehow given himself completely to her. He’d cross continents for her, just to spend a few hours together having breakfast. But he knew he’d do more than that just to keep her where she was meant to be at his side.

“So when do you go back to the airport?” Joe asked.

“I should probably head out soon,” he said. “Who knows how bad the airport will be.”

Giuliana nodded. “How did you get here?”

“Cab,” he said.

“Oh, good, I’ll drive you back,” she said and looked across at her father. “Then I’ll swing back and pick you up for the baseball game, Papa.”

“Isn’t that out of the way to drive all the way back?” Joe asked. “I can just go with you two.”

Fran rolled her eyes at her husband, in a gesture Chris had witnessed from Giuliana on occasion. It was exasperation. “Joseph,” she said simply. It took a minute for meaning to connect in the older man’s head and he nodded.

“Ah,” he said. “Alright, you can come back and pick me up.”

Chris grinned and turned back to his food as the conversation continued in a friendly, happy way for the rest of the meal. It reminded him of the many family dinners he’d been invited to back in high school. Fran and Joe had always been so welcoming of him, like he was one of the family, and in place of his mother, Fran always made sure to treat him like a son. Now that there was a chance that he might actually become a son by law, they seemed excited and happy. 

They had been much more accepting of the fact that he’d been about to make love to their daughter in their kitchen only a little while ago. Maybe they were just excited for the fact that this might mean they would probably get a few grandchildren out of the deal. The thought made him smile. Him a father? It was almost as crazy as thinking that he’d be sitting here at the DeMarco’s table, more than twelve years later, remarking on the fact that he was completely and utterly in love with Giuliana.

Of course, if he really thought about it, he’d always been in love with her. He’s just been too stupid to realize it.

Brunch soon ended with Joe taking the dishes to the sink and shooing them out the door instead of allowing them to stay and help. Chris was grateful for it because it meant he could spend more time with Giuliana.

While Giuliana was upstairs grabbing her things and fixing her hair, Joe called him over to the sink where he was washing a pan.

“When you get back, we should go to a game together,” Joe mentioned. “Sound good to you?

Chris smiled. “Sounds great. I actually have a thing or two that I need to talk to you about, so it’ll give me the chance to do it.”

Joe paused in his scrubbing and turned to look at him. Other guys rarely intimidated Chris, but if there was one person who intimidated him, it was Joe. Even being retired, he was the epitome of the New England fireman: big, strong and with a strict personality to match. He didn’t take crap from anyone. Receiving that look of surprise, followed by his eyes narrowing slightly as though to weigh and measure him, worried Chris. Whatever it was supposed to mean, Joe clearly understood what he intended to bring up at said baseball game.

“Hey, I’m ready!” Giuliana exclaimed as she bounced down the stairs and came into the kitchen.

“We’ll discuss it then,” Joe said.

“Discuss what when?” Giuliana asked.

“About going to a game when I get back,” Chris said. “You know, manly bonding time.”

“Ugh.” She scrunched her face in distaste. “Tell me when it is and I’ll take Mama to do girly things.”

Chris laughed and walked around the kitchen again, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting a hand on her hip to guide her toward the door. She looked at him. “Don’t you want to change before you go?”

“We can stop at my condo. It’s on the way,” he said. He waited until they were on the road to bring up the next important, pressing subject. “So… Kara said you weren’t looking for a place to live.”

Giuliana glanced at him, but he couldn’t see her eyes through the large, opaque sunglasses she wore. “No, I wasn’t. I was waiting for you. If you don’t want to move in together, than that’s cool. I’ll find some place. I just wanted to talk to you first.”

He looked at her. “G, I thought I’d made my intentions clear.”

“Well, you never know… now that you’ve had time to think about it,” she said.

“It’s only made me want it more,” he replied. “I want to have a space to call ours, together. Without roommates.”

She sighed. “I can start looking this week with Kara and have stuff lined up for when you get back.”

“Perfect,” he said. 

“What are we looking for? A condo? A house? Boston? Suburbs?” she asked. “Rent? Buy?”

He laughed. “Any of the above?”

She chuckled. “Alright, I’ll talk to Kara about it.”

Chris nodded and turned to look out on the road, feeling truly relaxed for the first time since Las Vegas. It was just what he needed to get through the last week of filming. And then he was coming home, moving in with his girlfriend, and praying that she would accept his proposal.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO sorry about the wait for this. The past week and a half have been crazy. Enjoy this shorter chapter, and I'll be back soon with another installment.

“Oh my god, are we done moving yet?” Giuliana asked as she dropped onto the couch in the living room. She sighed and looked around at the stacks of boxes, thinking that things still had to be put away and that Libby, as much as she would try, would never be able to do it without someone getting the kids out of her hair for a little while. But even wrangling two rambunctious children would be preferable to lifting heavy stuff. It made her wish that Chris hadn’t had to head out to Los Angeles for some urgent business after returning from Europe. They could have put him to work with his whole group of meathead friends and the moving stuff inside could have been completed in no time at all.

Libby came in from the kitchen where she’d been attempting to go through a few boxes and organizing them into cabinets. She smiled a tired smile and fell onto the couch beside her. “I don’t know. Do you think we’re done?” Her tone was one of motherly irritation—one Giuliana had heard many times as she spoke to Aidan and Mackenzie.

“I am.” Giuliana turned to look at her and attempted to hold back a laugh. Libby’s annoyed expression was priceless.

“Ya know, I move all the way across the country for you, and this is how you repay me?” Libby asked.

“And I’m also going to ask you to help me and Chris when we move.” Giuliana gave her a toothy grin.

Libby’s left eye twitched.

Giuliana laughed. “At least it won’t be for a little while… with him on the move all the time for work, we’re having scheduling conflicts.”

“It’s only been a few weeks since you moved back,” Libby said. “And to be fair, you didn’t give him any warning so he couldn’t clear his schedule to go house hunting.”

“True that,” Giuliana said.

Libby sighed and they stared at the blank white wall in front of them for some time. “But you’re still happy about this decision, right? You’re not rethinking it?”

“No,” Giuliana said. “I’m more sure about it now than ever. It’s just a new chapter with new things I have to learn. Once we have some time just to be, we can iron out all the wrinkles.”

“Yes, you can,” Libby said.

Giuliana nodded and glanced at her. “ _You’re_ not regretting moving here for this crazy venture, are you?”

Libby chewed on her lower lip and scrunched her nose. “I’m not regretting it. I’m just nervous as hell. I moved my kids away from our safety net. Really, it needed to be done. Matt’s been gone for a few years now… it was time to start fresh. Las Vegas was great and the job was great, but my life wasn’t awesome and I was only there because I was tied to the base. Packing everything up was hard, though. I cried, especially going through the stuff of Matt’s that I didn’t get rid of when he died.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you.” Giuliana reached out and grabbed her friend’s hand, squeezing her fingers.

Libby chuckled and threw her arms around her neck, hugging her close. “You didn’t want to be there. It was ugly crying and I needed to do it alone. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

“Yes, I am,” she said. “And don’t think you don’t have a net here. You’re going to have extended Italian relatives you never knew about… and then there’s Chris’ family… you’ll be an honorary member in no time.”

“I look forward to it,” Libby laughed.

They sat in silence for a little longer when Libby groaned. “The kids are being too quiet.”

“They are.”

“Do me a favor and don’t try for kids for a little while,” Libby said. “It’s really sadistic that you have a biological need to create them and love them and care for them even if they give you huge headaches.”

Giuliana laughed. “At least they’re cute.”

“Yeah, that’s cause you get them when they put on their halos. The cloven hooves and horns come out when you're not around,” Libby said. She stood up and walked across the room to stand at the foot of the stairs. “Aidan! Mackenzie!”

“What, Mommy?” replied Aidan’s sweet voice.

“What are you doing up there?” 

“Nothin’,” he called.

“Where’s your sister?”

“She’s here playin’ with her dolly,” he said.

Giuliana chuckled. 

“Well, come down here.”

“ ‘Kay!”

Giuli smiled and stood up, stretching her arms over head and then bending over to touch her toes. Every muscle in her body ached and the joints popped in protest. It was loud enough that Libby heard and laughed. “Man, you’re getting old.”

“Look who’s talking,” she rolled her eyes. “Let’s get going. We gotta at least get to the beds tonight so you can sleep comfortably.”

“We have like three more layers of boxes and furniture before then,” Libby frowned. “Can’t the kids and I just come sleep at Casa de Marco?”

“Do you really want my mom to nag you?” Giuliana asked.

Libby laughed. “She’s not that bad, Giuli.”

“She’s Italian, it’s our national sport,” she said.

Her friend rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “Come on, let’s get this done and then we can collapse.”

Giuliana nodded and rolled her neck, ready for round two.

\----

Chris yawned into his hand as his driver pulled to a stop in front of his condo building in Boston He knew it probably would have been wiser to stay the night in LA and fly home in the morning, but he knew even if he had scheduled it, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep. Not with the promise of what would be waiting for him when he returned home. He would sleep better and much more soundly knowing that Giuliana was there with him.

He crawled out of the car and nodded at the driver who had hopped out to retrieve his bag from the trunk. Chris took the small duffel bag and hung it off his shoulder, thanking the man and heading toward the front door. The street and building were quiet this late at night—or this early in the morning, depending on how one looked at it. It was always so eerie to come home at this time because the neighborhood usually had a good crowd, especially from the various pubs and bars that populated this area.

He made his way up to the condo he shared with his roommate, thankful that Zach had been out of town on business so he could spend some uninterrupted time with Giuliana for the few days he had been in Boston last week before heading out to LA. He let himself into the condo and moved back through the hall to the master bedroom where he knew she would be.

Giuliana was dead asleep except for her soft breathing mixed with the loud snoring coming from the dog lying beside her. From the soft moonlight shining in the window, he could see that she was wearing an old Celtics t-shirt of his that was so big it had pushed mostly up her belly to reveal a pair of tiny underwear and skin his fingers itched to touch. She turned on her side and tossed an arm over the sleeping bulldog, spooning against him. The dog didn’t move and his snoring continued unabated. 

The scene made Chris smile. Countless women before Giuliana had freaked out when he invited the dog up onto the bed to sleep. He understood the need to kick the dog out when other things were happening in the bed, but he was one of those pet owners that considered having them as bedmates to be one of the perks of having them. It was the rare woman in his past who understood that. Even more of them were turned off by East’s more disgusting habits like excessive drooling or snoring, just to name a few. The fact that Giuliana was not only comfortable with the situation, but had willing invited East up to sleep while he was away, made his cold heart melt. It just confirmed for him that this crazy plan he had in his head to marry Giuliana was a good idea. What other woman would willingly sleep with a snoring, drooling, farting dog when she wasn’t trying to impress anyone?

He set his bag down and quickly stopped off in the bathroom to get ready for bed. As he came out and flicked the light off, East finally lifted his head and looked in his direction. He was completely uninterested. It was difficult not to feel affronted, but it made him laugh nonetheless.

As Chris carefully settled onto the bed behind the prettier of his two bedmates, she stirred awake and turned to look back at him.

“Hey,” she said tiredly.

“Hi,” he replied as he kissed her lips lightly and wrapped his arms around her. He ran his hands across the smooth skin of her belly and curved his fingers around her waist to pull her back against him. She sighed and closed her eyes again, pushing closer. He brushed hair back from her neck and pressed a kiss there, followed by a shoulder, before settling his head on the pillow beside her.

East was back to snoring.

“Nudge him so he’ll stop.”

Giuliana giggled lazily. “He’s not going to stop and you know it.”

“It doesn’t bother you?” he asked.

“No. It’s like sleeping with you,” she said.

Chris scoffed, but knew he’d walked right into that one. “I only snore if I’ve been drinking.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” she said. “Now please shut up. You’re keeping me awake.”

His kissed her again. “I love you.”

“Love you,” she muttered, clearly already drifting back into her dreamland. It wasn’t exactly how he had pictured this homecoming going, but he realized as he settled down and shut his eyes to sleep, that he was just as contented with this as he would have been with making love to her. Okay, not _as_ contented, but it was a very close second. And it was with this happy knowledge, that he quickly fell off into a deep sleep.

\----

When he woke up the next morning, the bed was empty and Giuliana was standing in front of the mirror wearing a sleeveless, dark grey body-hugging dress that went to her knees. She wore understated black heels on her feet and she had blown most of the curls out of her hair except for a few waves. It was definitely not how he had hoped to wake up to her, but as she turned back to the bed, he decided that there were definite possibilities with this business-slash-hot-librarian look.

“Why are you never in bed when I wake up?” he asked.

“Cause some of us have to be up before noon,” she said.

He laughed. “You don’t have to be up, either.”

Giuliana grabbed her purse and walked to the edge of the bed. She leaned over and kissed him. “Libby and I have meetings today with various potential designers.”

“Libby arrived?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I was over there helping her move in last night so the kids could have beds to sleep on.”

“Did you get everything done?”

Giuliana shook her head. “We got her bed done, so they all slept in that. After our meetings, we’re going back to tackle it while my parents are watching the kids for us.”

“Oh,” he said.

She smiled and walked across the room to grab her purse. “I already took East for a walk and fed him, so don’t feed him again. You know he’ll beg.”

Chris nodded. “Okay.”

“Do you have plans today?”

“Nope,” he replied. “Just being a bump on a log… but I could be persuaded to come help with the move in process.”

Giuliana laughed. “You could also meet up with Kara and find some places for us to go look at, too. I narrowed it down, but I don’t want to go to like fifteen houses. So narrow it down to seven or so.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.” She grinned and grabbed her computer bag. “I’ll see you later.”

Before he could reply, she was out the door and out of the condo. He heard the tapping of nails on the hardwood floor as East pushed into the room and made a running leap for the bed. The big bulldog jumped up and sat looking at him expectantly.

“What?”

East’s tongue flicked out, but he didn’t move.

“Do you like sleeping with Giuli?” Chris asked.

East finally nuzzled down into the bed and poked his head in between his arm and body for attention. Chris grabbed him and wrestled him, the dog coming up sneezing. He settled back and looked at him.

“Yeah, I do, too, bud,” Chris laughed as East leaned over and licked his cheek. “I’m glad you’re taking to her so well.”

East didn’t seem to care, but he knew the dog would be anyone’s friend so long as they fed him. And if Giuliana continued to sneak gourmet people food into his kibble, she’d have a steadfast—and much heavier—friend.

“Alright, we gotta get up,” he replied. “We have to impress your hopefully soon-to-be mommy by taking initiative.”

East passed judgment on him with that look of haughty derision he’d mastered so well over the past eleven years. “Yeah, I know, initiative sucks. But if we do it, then good things will come our way… and you’ll be locked out of the bedroom for a little while.”

East huffed, turned and jumped off of the bed to go create mayhem elsewhere. Chris sighed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of who he could call to meet him over at Libby’s house to get her moved in before the girls returned. After assembling a mental list, he threw the covers back and went in search of his cell phone.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many thanks to everyone reading, reviewing and leaving kudos. My sincerest apologies on the wait for this. The last few weeks have been a doozy. Enjoy this, though! :D

Chapter 20

 

Chris pulled the buzzing cell phone from his pocket, looking at the screen.  It was his manager for the fifth time since he sat down with Kara in her office.  He quickly texted him that he was unavailable and placed the phone on the table when Kara cleared her throat.

“Believe it or not, I do have other things to do today,” Kara said. “I can’t sit here while you’re playing on your phone.”

“Geez, what’s eating you?” he asked, grabbing the stack of papers in front of him.

Kara sighed. “I’m just tired.  Planning a wedding is stupendously difficult when neither Jay or I want to do it.  When you get married, do yourself a favor and hire a planner.”

Chris chuckled. “I’m aware of the fact that I’m just going to be the bank… whatever Giuliana wants, she can have.  If that’s a pricey wedding planner, then so be it.”

She laughed at him and handed him another stack of papers. “So you’re really going to do it?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“I can’t believe the eternal bachelor is actually going to settle down.”

“Neither can I.”

Kara smiled. “You _do_ want to settle down, don’t you?”

Chris looked up at her, surprised at her question.  Of course he knew settling down with someone—to go as far as marrying that someone—would be a huge adjustment for him after the last handful of years and the lifestyle he had enjoyed.  But he was ready to step back and slow down to enjoy life.  Despite the increased attention he was receiving with the Marvel contract, he now had the ability to work where and on whatever projected he wanted.  It wasn’t a matter of paying bills any more.  He could request things in contracts that made having a wife, and eventually children, easier.  The windfall was nice latitude with the craziness.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I’ve been ready to stop running around for awhile.  You know how it is when you just find that one person…”

Kara nodded and smiled. “I do.  Just a shame you didn’t recognize it when we were in high school.”

Chris shrugged. “I’ve had some time to really think about it, and I think I always knew she was the one for me.  It just took almost thirteen years of being apart and coming back together to make me realize it.”

“I’m happy for you,” Kara replied.

He looked back at the stack of papers in front of him. “Why am I even looking at this crap?  I don’t care where I live as long as it’s with her.”

Kara giggled. “I think you care more than you let on.”

“I want a house in the ‘burbs… not in Boston,” he said. “It makes sense.  Something to start a family in… but it doesn’t have to be huge.”

Kara pulled out one listing sheet and slid it across the table. “I preface giving this to you with the fact that Giuliana absolutely fell in love with this house when we went to look at it, but decided not to include it with the finalists.”

“Why not?” he asked, reaching for the paper.

“Because she said she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s taking advantage of the situation,” Kara said. “I told her she wasn’t, but she wouldn’t listen to me.” 

Chris rolled his eyes and glanced first at the price tag.  He let out a low whistle of surprise even though it wasn’t as much of a shock as he thought it might be. “Giuliana’s worst trait is that she’s stubborn.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Kara remarked.

“What did you think of this house?”

Kara smiled warmly. “I love it, too.  I wouldn’t mind bringing the kids up to visit Uncle Chris for the weekend.  It’s like a freaking resort.  You’d have absolutely no reason to leave it.  There’s a pool, gym, tennis-slash-basketball court… a state-of-the-art kitchen, media room… it really has it all.  Seven bedrooms, six full baths.  It’s really a good investment.  In a good economy, the resale price would double.”

“Then let’s do it,” he said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to look at something cheaper?  Smaller?”

“If Giuliana wants it, then it’s a done deal,” he said.

Kara stood up and laughed, smacking him playfully with the manila folder in her hand. “You’re so whipped.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“I’ll go get all the paperwork and go over it with you,” she said. “Sit tight.”

“I do want to go see it, though.  With Giuliana.”

Kara winked. “I can arrange that.”

“Good… now hurry up.  I have some place to be in an hour.”

 

\----

“I still can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Giuliana said, looking out the window as they drove through the Sudbury neighborhood toward Libby’s house.  After spending most of the day with interior designers and vendors and construction people, she was exhausted and more than a little overwhelmed.  Luckily Libby had been with her to handle the business aspects of the day; it was a godsend to have someone so talented in planning and organizing this stuff.  Organizing and running a kitchen was completely different, and she would never, ever want to concern herself with all the front of house worries other than the fact that it presented the image Giuliana wanted for the business.

Libby glanced over at her. “Neither can I.  But I’m excited.  Aren’t you?”

“Excited.  Nervous.  Overwhelmed.  You name it, I feel it,” Giuliana laughed.

“I think that’s to be expected,” Libby said.  Her navigation system directed her to turn onto the street where the new house was located.  It was a short drive down the street to the house, but she nearly missed it.  She pressed quickly on the brake, jerking the car. “What the heck’s going on?”

“Uh,” Giuliana said, squinting at the men moving a dresser out of the shipping container and taking it into the house.  There were various cars parked on the street, the most conspicuous being Chris’ black BMW out front. “I think Chris called in a favor with his idiot friends.”

“Oh, do I sense some underlying hostility in your tone?”

Giuliana glared at her. “These guys were cruel to me growing up.  I know they’ve probably changed, but it still annoys me, and Chris hasn’t officially re-introduced me to them.”

“Well, if it _is_ them, then I guess that’s going to happen now,” Libby said.  She pulled up the drive and parked the car.

Giuliana took a deep breath and reached to open up the door.  She smoothed the dress down her front to buy her time in collecting herself and coming around the car.

“Mommy!  Auntie Giuli!  Come see what Chris brought me for a warming gift!” Aidan called as he ran out of the house.  Aidan grabbed his mother’s hand and pulled her inside the house.  Chris came out and smiled.

“A what kind of gift?”

“I brought him a Cap poster for his bedroom for a house warming gift,” he replied with a laugh.

“Ooo… trying to be his favorite uncle, huh?” Giuliana laughed.

“Trying to impress his Auntie Giuli.”  He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, kissing her lightly. “Is it working?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that my icy heart is a little melted now,” she said.

His eyes twinkled with laughter. “What if I throw in the fact that I called in a favor and all the stuff is moved into the house so you don’t have to do it?”

“Definitely getting better,” she replied. “I really didn’t want to do it after today.  I’m exhausted.  How did you know where everything went?”

“Everything’s labeled,” he said.

Giuliana laughed. “Oh, yeah, I forgot we were talking about Libby.”

“If she’s half as anal about the restaurant as she is about this stuff, the restaurant will be in good hands,” Chris replied.

“I heard that!” came the call from upstairs, where the window was open.

Giuliana shifted closer to Chris, hugging him and enjoying the feeling of him being there.  They had spent far too much time apart and she really regretted not waking him this morning so they could have had some time to spend together before she’d left for her meetings.

“Can we hire them to move into whatever place we find?” she asked.

“We’ll talk about it,” he said.

“Did you meet with Kara?”

He nodded and smiled. “I did.  If I can pull you away, we have a showing at one of them in about an hour.”

“Well, seeing as you took care of the moving, I think I could be available in an hour,” she giggled. “Which house?”

“Mmm…” He leaned over and kissed her lightly. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Giuliana scoffed. “Tell me.”

“No,” he replied.

She frowned and pushed away from him. “Then this is,” she said as she motioned to her body, “is off limits.”

Chris shook his head.  He had the audacity to laugh at her. “I have a feeling it will be turned back on a little later.”

“There are children close by,” she said.

He wiggled his eyebrows. “When did that ever stop me?”

Giuliana flipped him off and turned around to head into the house.  The sound of his laugh followed her inside where three sweaty men were drying perspiration off their faces and taking cold water bottles from Libby.  They glanced in her direction when they heard her step in, and Giuliana knew who they were almost instantly.  Though quite a bit older, all three of them were the same.  They and Chris had been the unbreakable bro group in school—in football and lacrosse and any other sport they could think of.  And they’d all been incredibly hurtful to her in their own ways.

She cleared her throat and did her best to meet their eyes.  These weren’t even going to be the bad ones.  The bad ones would be the girls who were still friends with Chris.  At least in that arena, she had Kara in her corner.

“Did you meet them?” Giuliana asked, looking at Libby.

Libby nodded.

Giuliana felt a large hand slip across her back and turned as Chris settled beside her. “G, you remember Paul, Cameron and Kyle, right?”

She gave him a sour look. “How could I forget?” 

She afforded them a half, uncomfortable wave, but Aidan saved her from having to say anything. “Come on, Auntie Giuli!  Come see the poster!”

Giuli gladly followed the boy upstairs to his new bedroom where she found a large Captain America poster on the far wall.  The same wall—when Chris’ family had been here and this had been Chris’ room—used to have a giant picture of a scantily-clad Carmen Electra.  Things certainly had changed, and yet Chris was still made his mark.  It made her smile.

“Wow! Aidan, that’s so cool,” Giuli said.  She stood in front of the colorful picture and gazed at the bright blue eyes that were so familiar to her, yet foreign in the way the computer image had digitized them.  It was really weird to stop and think for a moment that the man she knew was also that man on the poster, in the movies—the image of a pop culture icon. 

She faintly heard Libby calling Aidan, but didn’t register him leaving the room for a few minutes.  She pulled herself back from her thoughts and sighed heavily, turning around to head out.  Chris stood in the doorway, one shoulder leaning against the frame, arms crossed across his chest as he looked at her speculatively.  She knew that gaze to mean two things—either he was assessing the quickest way to get her out of her clothes or he was waxing poetic in his own mind.

Giuliana blushed and pointed a thumb back at the poster. “I’m still not used to it.  It’s weird.”

“Try being the one on the poster,” he said softly.  He straightened up, a soft grin on his lips. “Giuliana, I love you.”

She giggled. “I love you, too.  That’s what you were thinking about?”

Chris’ grin widened. “You’d be hard pressed to find a time when I’m not thinking about you.”

As he stepped into the room, he drew her into the comfort of his arms and kissed first her forehead, and then when she looked up at him, her lips. Giuli rested her head against his shoulder.

“You know how many times I dreamed about a moment like this in here?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t move or make a sound, but the pressure of his hug felt good.  They stood in silence like this for some time, until he finally sighed. “Are you going to tell me what happened downstairs?”

Giuli shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“ ‘Cause I don’t want to ruin this moment,” she said. “I realized that with your job I won’t get to see you that much… and the time I do get to see you, I don’t want to spend it unhappy.”

He pressed two fingers under her chin to force her to look at him. “Tell me.”

“The guys… just made me think of stuff,” she said.

“We’ve all grown up, Giuliana,” he said. “They aren’t like that.  And if they ever say anything to you—anyone who I’m still friends with from school—you just tell me.”

She chuckled. “I’m sure everything will be fine, Chris.  I never really confronted all the crap that happened here and since I moved back, I’ve slowly been working through it all.  Don’t worry about it.”

His eyes told her he was not convinced, but she didn’t know how to put it any other way.  Yes, her issues would continue to play a role in dealing with his friends, but she realized that most of it was her hang up.  She’d get over it eventually.

Chris sighed and lifted his arm, looking at his watch. “Are you ready to go to the showing?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Aren’t we going to be early?”

“Kara texted me when you came up to say that she was running early for a change,” he said. 

“Then let’s go,” she said.  He kissed her again and took hold of her hand, pulling her through the house.

 

\----

Chris blew air out of his mouth as he looked around the two-story foyer up to the impressive chandelier overhead and then the winding staircase to the second level where they’d already been.  The pictures certainly didn’t make eight-thousand square feet look this big, but standing in the middle of this house, he felt tiny.  This wasn’t the largest house he’d ever been in—of the parties and get-togethers he’d been to in locations around the world with the Hollywood elite, this was relatively small and understated.  But it was big to him.  Especially compared to the two tiny condos he’d called home on each coast since he’d moved out on his own.

He’d lived economically since then so he could take small roles in independent films.  He’d enjoyed it, because it had given him the freedom to express himself in a more artistic way than a big studio film.  His life had taken a very unexpected one-eighty.  The fact that he was standing in a place like this now, knowing that not only could he afford something like this, but also much more, completely staggered him.  Was it too big?  There was no way he could fill up seven bedrooms, even with an office for him and one for Giuli…

Chris tensed and looked around him, realizing that Giuliana had wandered out of the room.  He heard the clack of her heels on the marble floor somewhere else in the house, but his attention was diverted by Kara’s voice as she came into the room on her cell phone.  She ended the call and looked at him.

“The sellers said that we can work out something with the furniture if you want to keep any of it,” she said.

He nodded and bit his lower lip.

“Do you like it?”

“I do,” Chris said.

“And Giuli…” Kara started.

Chris shrugged.  He honestly didn’t know what Giuliana thought of the house now, despite the fact that he knew she had liked it when Kara showed it to her previously.  When they’d turned down the path and Giuliana had realized where they were headed, she’d become annoyed that they were there.  Then she’d become quiet and withdrawn as they had walked through the house together.

Giuliana nearly always let him know what was on her mind, good, bad or indifferent.  That was one of her charms.  The very few times she got like this made him nervous.  It usually meant she was bottling all of her emotions up for some reason or another.  That was until they flew out in a flood of anger like the night of his birthday.

“Did you see where she went?” he asked.

“I think she went out on the deck.”

He nodded and went in that direction.  She wasn’t on the deck, but he did find her outside and sitting on a small stone bench all the way across the expansive, emerald green lawn.  The bench itself sat on the edge of a small lake where there were ducks bobbing and gliding along the calm waters.  As he neared her, he realized she’d taken her heels off and her toes were now curled into the lush carpet of grass beneath her feet.

She turned and glanced up at him. “Hey,” she said.

Chris sat beside her. “What’s wrong?”

It wasn’t worth mincing words.

Giuliana sighed. “I’m miffed that Kara showed you the listing for this property when I specifically told her not to.”

“Why didn’t you want her to show me?”

“Because,” she said.

“That’s not an answer,” he remarked.

She fixed him with a hard stare, but it didn’t stop her. “I just… I’ve put most of my money into the restaurant.  I don’t have a whole lot left over to put into a house.  What I have to contribute won’t even pay the legal fees for this house.”

“Do you honestly think that I care about that?” he asked. “I want to spend money on building our life together.  I want you to have what you _want_.  Do you not like the house?”

“No, I love the house.  It’s my dream house.  I could grow old in it.  I … I guess I’m just worried about what others may think about all of this.  I know I’ve told you not to stress about what others may think about you, but it just makes me stop to think.  I mysteriously come back into your life at a time when you’ve pretty much become a household name.  A time of your life that you _can_ afford _all_ of this and more.  And all of a sudden, you’re buying me a house?  Besides the fact that I hate the feeling of being helpless, it makes me look bad to others.  What happens when this becomes gossip fodder?  Professionally… I worry that maybe people might consider me a joke if this gets around.”

Chris let out a heaving sigh.  So there it was.  She was uncomfortable about what others thought of her.  She was uncomfortable with who and what he was.

“I can’t change what I am.” He voiced it more tersely than he’d intended.

“Oh, god, Chris, no… that’s not what I meant.”  She ran hand through her hair. “I love you.  Like… the ache in my heart with you gone this last week in LA was terrible.  What I mean is that if I had more to contribute I, at least, would know.”

Chris slipped an arm around her. “You told me a few months ago not to care what others thought.  I don’t care what other people say.  I know that truth.  I don’t think any less of you or feel any less _for_ you.”

“You promise you won’t?” she asked.

He laughed lightly and pulled her close to his chest. “Baby, if I believed half the things they say about me, I’d be even more emotionally scarred than I already am.” 

She nodded.

“If you want this house, I will buy it for _us,_ and no one is going to get a say in what is right for us.”

“But it’s so big… do we really need it?”

No, they didn’t.  But that wasn’t the point.

“The point is you want it.  If you’re so concerned about wasted space, we’ll just have to have lots of babies to fill it up.”

Giuliana gave him a watery laugh. “Not _too_ many.”

“There’s seven bedrooms, G,” he said.

“One is an office.”

“Six, then.”

“Five.  We’ll have one of them.”

“Then five kids.  That’s not too many,” he said.

Giuliana rolled her eyes. “My body says three.  Max.”

Chris grinned. “Let’s just agree to disagree and we’ll table it for later discussion.”

She giggled. “Deal.”

“So we’re doing this?  We’re going with the house?”

“Yeah.  I think so.”

Chris pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Awesome.  I have to go tell Kara.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be in soon.”

He stood up, nodded and turned back toward the house.  Something still didn’t feel right about this, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.  He knew he’d prize it out of her later, some way or another.  However, first he’d go deal with Kara.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next installment. I can't believe it's been that many weeks since the last one... planning and executing a cross country move is a real headache when you have a touch of writer's block. Fortunately, the muse finally visited me. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Giuliana woke from a fitful dream to an empty bed in the middle of the night. Feeling the cold space beside her, she knew Chris must have never come to bed. She sighed and yawned into her hand. When they’d come back from seeing the house and having dinner with his family, she’d been incredibly tired with a start of a headache forming over her eyes. Her feet hurt from wearing heels all day and she wanted a bath to wash off the cares of the day. The last thing she’d wanted to do was to make love.

Chris, the indomitable man that he was, tried his very best to get her to submit to his advances. Needless to say, it had ended in an argument and neither of them happy. He’d gone to answer some emails and read a few scripts while she finished her shower and landed in bed asleep. As she lay here now, staring up at the dark ceiling, she wondered why she’d refused him. All she wanted was his hands on her. She adored the feeling of his body against hers, moving with her. They’d not nearly been together long enough for her to feel sated in regards to that area of their shared lives. Honestly, she wondered if she’d ever come to that point… but it sure as hell felt like she had only a few short hours ago.

Whatever alien had inhabited her body was gone now, though, but she was acutely aware of the fact that he was not here to grab hold of her and soothe her back to sleep. Conceding defeat, she threw the covers back and stood from the bed, padding along the hardwood floors down the hall until she came out into the living room. Chris was sitting in the dark, a pair of basketball shorts his only clothing. He was busy tapping away on his keyboard, ear buds in his ears. As she neared the couch, she noted that he was only playing a game of old-school Tetris.

He seemed transfixed with the screen even as she stepped beside his legs which he’d stretched out on the table in front of him. Chris blinked once and glanced up at her as she grabbed the computer, shut the lid and set it aside. She carefully slid into his lap to straddle his legs as she removed the earbuds from his ears.

His blue eyes pierced the dark night, but they weren’t angry like they’d been earlier. Instead, they were calm and searching. He was waiting for her to speak.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she said.

His large hands slipped up her bare thighs and slipped beneath the large shirt to rest on her panty-covered hips. After a breath he pursed his lips. “I can’t fix what’s wrong if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, baby.”

She leaned over and lightly kissed his lips. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“So it’s not an issue between us?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “I’m just exhausted, more this last month because of the move. I’m stressed and achy and tired. To even think about putting in the effort of pleasing you when I know I won’t even be up to par exhausts me even more.”

She didn’t expect his bark of laughter, but his lips split into a wide grin as he laughed. “Baby, you know the fact that I can get you naked is pleasure enough, right?”

Giuliana sighed. “But it’s not everything, and you know that. I just need you to understand that this will pass… once I’m sure I’ve got everything up and running. Right now, things are really scary for me and taking my energy. If I say I can’t do it, then I can’t.”

“I understand,” he said. “I’m not happy that I can’t have my girlfriend how I want her, but it will teach me a thing or two about patience.”

“You are pretty impatient.”

Chris laughed. “I’m not that bad. I’ve gotten better with age.”

“Barely.”

“Maybe so,” he said.

“Come to bed,” she added. “I can’t sleep without you there.”

He shook his head. “Let’s go do something.”

“It’s four in the morning,” she said.

“Do you have anything business related to do today?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. 

“Then you can come with me. I’ll drive and you can sleep.”

“Where are we going?”

He smiled and pulled her down to kiss her, his lips moving softly and deftly. When they parted, he ran the pad of his right thumb across her lips. “It’s a secret. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you,” she said.

“Then let’s go get dressed,” he replied. He encircled his arms around her waist and picked her up as he stood.

She giggled as he set her on the ground. “That Captain America training totally makes moves like that awesome.”

“It helps that your thighs are like vice grips around my waist,” he said. 

“I work hard for those,” she said.

Chris kissed her again. “I’m not complaining.”

He drug her back into the bedroom where they both began to change into clothes. She paused, though, when she was trying to decide between jeans or exercise pants. “I don’t know what to wear because I don’t know where you’re taking me.”

He came up behind her and selected the black track pants, handing them to her with a challenging look on his face. It was everything he could do to keep from laughing. She pulled on the pants and slipped a bra on beneath her sleep shirt. Clearly they weren’t going anywhere fancy. As she turned to quickly pull her curls back into a pony, a sweatshirt landed on her head.

The sweatshirt had their old high school’s logo on the front, though it looked pretty new. He must have seen her questioning it. “I’m a booster for their theater program. They gave me a sweatshirt.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked.

“I made a donation for the new theater,” he replied.

“How magnanimous.”

Giuliana pulled the large hoodie over her head and stuck her fingers into the front pocket. “Alright, I’m ready.”

He laughed. “Okay.”

They left East at home, a decision which clearly was not one of East’s choices, and went downstairs to Chris’ car. She didn’t last long sitting in the passenger seat watching the darkness passing her by. Chris wasn’t very talkative, and the fact that she was in a warm car listening to soft music immediately knocked her out. As long as he was with her, everything seemed to be fine.

She only came awake again by the gentle nudge of Chris’ hand on her shoulder and the brush of his lips against her cheek. He’d parked the car and had been able to come around and open her door without waking her.

“Come on, baby. We’re here,” he said.

She shifted and stretched, blinking her eyes to orient herself with her surroundings. It was still dark, but the sky outside looked to be a slightly brighter shade. “What time is it?”

“Five-ish,” he said. “Come on.”

Giuliana stepped out of the vehicle into the early morning chill and thanked Chris for thinking about a sweatshirt. It may have been summer but the early morning hours were still a bit chilly. She became instantly aware of the fact that they were on the beach. The sign by the beach entrance confirmed which beach for her. They were in Salem.

She glanced quickly at him, but he wasn’t looking at her as he took a hold of her hand and guided her up the stairs of the walkway. They came out onto the quiet beach, low tide calm and pulling further out into the ocean. The very faint pink and lighter purples on the horizon spoke of the fact that the sun was going to rise soon.

The location and the time of day was not lost on her. One of her fondest and worst memories with Chris—those times when there was no one else to take his attention—took place on this beach. Realizing that he too remembered it made her grin like an idiot and did stupid things to her heart.

They dawdled for some time, not really moving much until Chris paused and sat down onto the sand. She followed and allowed him to wrap her with his arms, pulling her back against his chest as they watched the horizon.

“I love you,” he murmured in her ear.

She let out a contented sigh as the memory invaded her senses. Back in senior year, he’d orchestrated a birthday outing to Salem for the annual to-do during the month of October. After spending the day walking through the museums and parks and haunted houses, they’d gone out to dinner and then to a very late movie. Instead of going home—which was an hour or so away—they wound up at this beach. Here they had talked, and while it was generally happy and sleepy, he had also told her of his intention to move to New York permanently when he graduated. They’d both cried, because even then, they’d known their careers wouldn’t bring them back together after they left each other at the end of the school year. It was a pact that they’d made then to make as much of their last year together count. They’d promised always to love each other, even if they became separated. She supposed, in a way, they had stuck to their words. Their love, however, though the same was different now. It was deeper. With the benefit of years and experience, they understood it a little better.

Giuliana wondered if Chris hadn’t brought her out here to do the speaking for him, as vivid as this memory was.

“Do you remember that night?” he asked, hope in his voice.

“I couldn’t forget it,” she replied. 

She could feel his lips curve against her ear.

“My heart was so happy after the day we spent together, but I felt like my heart was breaking, too,” she added. “I loved you so much, then.”

He kissed the skin by her ear. “I loved you, too. Do you still love me now?”

“Yes, I do,” she giggled.

“Why?” 

The pain and doubt in his whispery voice was gut wrenching. “Because my soul is not alive without yours beside it… all these years without you, I’ve tried everything to be happy. I’ve changed my body, my lifestyle, everything… and I didn’t realize what I was missing was you.”

“I feel the same way,” he said. “I tried. God knows I tried to fill the void without you, but it never worked because I wasn’t happy. Why did you let me go?”

“Because,” she said. “Because I loved you. You needed to go and do, and keeping you here would have ruined you. It wasn’t fair to ask it of you when I planned to go, too. I always knew you were destined to be a huge star. I always believed in you. I still do. Why did it take you so long to find me again?”

“I wasn’t ready for this,” he replied, “to realize what we shared. I had to get to this point in my life to understand what my priorities were and who mattered in my life. You matter. Honestly, you were always at the top of the list, even over my mom and family. It’s always been you, Giuli, even when I wasn’t showing it appropriately.”

Giuliana sniffled, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“I want to change the memory we have of this beach from sadness to joy… to promise to each other that though we have crazy lives that, at times, will see us halfway across the world from each other, our love remains intact and that we’ll never forget how much it means to us,” he said. “I want to grow old with you. I want to sit here fifty… sixty… seventy… years from now and think how amazing my life has been only because I’ve had you there by my side through all of it.”

The breath caught in her throat as she realized what he was doing. She felt him shift slightly behind her and she sat up to turn to look at him. He opened a small wooden box, velvet lined. Nestled in the dark cloth was a diamond ring.

“Oh my god,” she said.

“Giuliana, will you _finally_ agree to marry me?” he asked softly.

The tears flowed unabated at his question. She had never been surer of anything in her life. “Yes I will.”

The smile on his face was giddy and huge as he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. She wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him, but the emotional tears were making it difficult. So she reluctantly pushed back on him and met his eyes.

“I love you, Chris Evans,” she said.

“And I love you, Giuliana DeMarco-soon-to-be-Evans,” he replied, a twinkle in his eye. He removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her hand easily. “Oh, good, it fits. Libby wasn’t sure.”

“Libby knew about this?” 

He nodded. “Your dad, too. But no one else.”

“Can we keep it that way for a little bit?” she asked. “I want to enjoy it for a few days before people find out.”

“You mean before everyone starts planning our wedding for us?” he asked.

“Something like that,” she giggled. “But you know, I’m headed back to Las Vegas in a few days to finish paperwork for my house sale…”

“I thought you wanted the big white wedding,” he said.

Giuliana shrugged. “I don’t want the craziness surrounding it. I want our marriage to be about us, not everyone else.”

“Easier said than done with a large Italian family like yours.”

“That’s why we have to make a sneak attack,” she said.

“I thought you were against it because your mom would be angry.”

Giuliana nodded. “She’d be angry, but she’d get over it. And she just wants a party… why can’t we just do the whole marriage thing and then have a huge fuck off party after we tell everyone?”

“I’ve never been against eloping,” he said. “Need I remind you my suggestion back at my birthday?”

“Doing it then would have been a mistake,” she replied. “In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t give in. We needed that blow out fight and cooling off period.”

He made a sound in his throat that was one of displeasure, but said nothing else on the matter. “Also, if we do this all at one time, we can get all the gossip stuff out of the way at once instead of spanning it out over say a year and it really getting on our nerves.”

“Oh, yeah,” she laughed. “I didn’t even think about it like that.”

“It’s one of those things that have to be thought of now.” His voice was doleful.

Giuliana kissed him lightly. “Then let’s do it. Just you and me.”

“I can’t wait,” he said. 

She grinned. “Neither can I.”

With a sigh, she turned to look back out on the horizon as the sun finished cresting over the Atlantic. She was nervous and scared, but excited, overjoyed and completely in love.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait. Please enjoy this chapter!

A lot had happened over the past few days. So much, that as he stood in front of the mirror in the church dressing room straightening his tie, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into. Not so much what he’d gotten himself into in asking Giuliana to marry him—there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that this was exactly what he wanted—but more for the fact that even planning a small, secret wedding like this hadn’t been as simple as they had imagined.

In addition to figuring out all the legal stuff with marriage licenses, they’d also had to find someone to marry them. He would have been fine to be married in a civil ceremony at one of those cheesy little chapels in Vegas. Honestly, when he’d brought it up, that’s what he thought Giuli would want, too. Instead, she’d found a Catholic priest to do the whole thing. His agreement to this was only because it would serve to soften the blow to her devout family; he hadn’t realized that it would then involve him going through old boxes looking for record from the church of his sacraments. Those documents had been stashed away a very long time ago, but he’d found them. 

Then they’d had to make reservations for all the necessities: a hotel room, under her name so he wasn’t easily traced; clothing and resulting accoutrement had to be procured; and he had called his publicist to warn her of the impending maelstrom of press. He knew people—tabloids—regularly checked the marriage license records when celebrities showed up to the city. He fully hoped to make it in and out of the city without anyone the wiser. To round it all out, he’d had to locate a wedding photographer who wouldn’t turn around and sell the photos they had taken to the highest bidder. 

Even more difficult since this odyssey had started had been keeping it from their families. He’d walked around with a permanent smile on his face since that morning on the beach, and he’d nearly slipped more than a few times at his mother’s incessant questioning when he said he was going with Giuli to Las Vegas. A few hours after taking off from Logan on their way to Las Vegas, Giuliana had admitted that she’d nearly come undone when she’d said goodbye to her parents. Even as she told him, she’d grown weepy. He thought about turning the plane around, but she assured him this was what she wanted. He believed her, too. The mere mention of trying to plan a wedding—the traditional one that would undoubtedly cause even more headaches—threw her into a tailspin of anxiety.

But he’d ultimately caved. Yesterday afternoon, while she’d been out signing papers for the sale of her house, he’d called them. Everyone. Though she wouldn’t fess up to it, Giuli had wanted her family here. _He_ wanted her father to walk her down the aisle. She wanted Libby’s support. He understood why she didn’t want to prolong the planning for an event like this with everything going on in their lives, but she would regret not having them here. And he wanted his mom here, and Scott, too, to stand up for him. But he’d limited it to the very basic family. No one else need know yet.

And now he was anxious. Anxious to get this thing over with so that he and Giuliana could get on to enjoying the rest of their lives together. Anxious for her to find that her family was here, after all, to share this with them. Most of all, he was anxious to see her. She’d left the hotel room early this morning for appointments at the dress shop where she’d found her dress and then at the salon. He’d been left alone for entirely too long to coordinate the last remaining bits needed for the tiny ceremony. There was nothing traditional about it, but he didn’t want to screw it up. Luckily, he didn’t have to endure too many hours without the help of the incredibly domineering women in their families. His mother and Giuli’s mother, along with Libby because she knew Las Vegas better than any of them, took over directing everything. 

Now he felt idle. He was pacing as he tried to memorize the vows he’d hastily scribbled on the back of cardboard sleeve he’d grabbed while getting coffee this morning at the Starbucks in his hotel. They were short and simple, but he’d be damned if he could remember them.

A knock at the dressing room door made him freeze. “Mr. Evans?” said the photographer.

“Yeah?” he called back

“Ms. De Marco is here,” he said. “If you’d like to do the reveal.”

“Has our family arrived yet?” Chris asked as he stepped outside the dressing room. 

The photographer shook his head. “No, but Libby called awhile ago to tell me they were on their way. They should be here soon, but we’ll have long enough to do this reveal, and then have a completely different reaction moment.”

“Good.”

“Now, I’m going to have you stand in the garden where my partner is and bring her out here and let the magic happen,” the photographer explained as they stepped into the picturesque garden area decorated with pretty desert scenery. It wasn’t like Boston’s green, but they’d get more pictures when they threw the big party down the road.

The second photographer directed him to stand with his back to the entrance, and for the first time since he’d proposed to her, he grew nervous. He shifted weight on his feet, antsy from the tension of waiting to see her. He could hear the door opening on hinges, her blowing a breath out, and the sound of the camera shutters from both photographers. The crunch of her shoes on the gravel path and then the click of her heels on the slate stone area he was standing on. With a deep breath, he turned to face her.

And she was amazing.

The dress she’d found wasn’t fluffy or encrusted in crystals or dripping in lace or even really a wedding dress. It was a simple evening gown with a slight train, but tasteful and so Giuli. The luxurious fabric looked like liquid as it moved against her body, the white crisp and beautiful against her bronzed skin.

“Wow,” he heard himself say as he pulled her to him, kissing her lips and hugging her close. He felt like it’d been ages since he’d seen her, when in actuality it had only been hours.

She giggled against him—it was watery foretelling that she was crying—and pushed back to look at him again. “You clean up real nice.”

He laughed and scratched his cheek. He’d shaved the stubble remaining from his beard for the movie he’d just filmed. “I try.”

Her lips pressed against his cheek as she hugged him again. He had no choice but to wrap his arms around her, hands brushing the smooth skin of a bare back provided by her gown. As they stood there, he trailed his hands up, playing with the tips of her hair which she’s left long and curly, but clearly tamed by a stylist.

She sighed, relaxing into his arms and holding him tight. “It feels so right, you know? Like we’re supposed to be here, and I’m supposed to be in your arms.”

Chris chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Giuliana pulled away and swiped under her eyes, blowing out through her lips in an attempt to stop her crying. He didn’t see the point. It would only get worse in a few minutes.

As though on cue, the limo driver who he’d roped into this endeavor, stepped into the patio area as his cue that the others had arrived. Chris knew this would be the performance of his life if he could pull this off, because nothing got by Giuli.

“Excuse me a minute,” Chris said, walking over to the man.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Evans, I couldn’t find them in the back,” the driver said too loudly and too woodenly. Chris cringed, but from the corner of his eye he could see that Giuli wasn’t concerned about the woodenness; she was more concerned about the “couldn’t find” in his phrase.

“Are you sure you looked everywhere?” Chris asked.

The driver nodded. 

“Damn it,” Chris said.

“What?” Giuliana asked. “What did you lose?”

“I didn’t lose them,” Chris defended.

“Them?”

Chris sighed dramatically. “I thought I had the rings… but I guess I left them at the hotel.”

“Christopher Robert, that’s a half hour away!”

“I’m sorry!”

Giuliana huffed and shook her head. The look on her face was annoyed, but it wasn’t as angry as he had thought it might be. “What do you expect to do? We can always use my engagement ring, but you don’t have one…”

“I’ll figure it out,” Chris said. “Give me a minute to take one more look myself.”

He held up his hand and disappeared into the building with the driver, letting the photographers take Giuli for pictures. So far the plan was working.

\-----

Giuliana smiled for the photographer once again, posing in a different position. It felt like Chris had disappeared ages ago to take another look for the rings. She just knew she should have been the one responsible for them, but Chris had insisted on being their keeper. He had said it was because she had already done so much to plan everything that he felt he had to have some responsibility. She should have realized this was Chris-freakin’-Evans she was talking about. If his head wasn’t screwed on, he would have lost it by now.

Still, though, she couldn’t feel totally angry at him. It was such a small thing that it really didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was minutes away from marrying the love of her life and she felt like she was walking on clouds despite this one small issue. She thought she’d be more nervous or having second thoughts about eloping, but she was at peace and ready to do this. It wouldn’t be their families’ ideal outcome to a marriage between them, but it was ideal for her and Chris. Lord knew that had they waited and done everything traditionally, she would have been infinitesimally more stressed and nervous than she was at this moment.

The door opening again drew her attention away from the photographer. She turned to find Chris silhouetted in the door, looking as dapper as ever in the incredibly well tailored suit he’d chosen for today. There was a smile on his face a mile wide and he seemed giddy. It was the expression he wore when he had something up his sleeve. It had better be two found wedding rings.

“Did you find them?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, but I found something even better.”

Just as she opened her mouth to rip him a new one—as any good Bridezilla would do—a small blonde head poked out from the side of the door, followed by a tiny body in an adorable suit, with tiny hands carrying a ring pillow. It took her a moment longer to register that it was Aidan.

And if it was Aidan…

Libby stepped out with Mackenzie on her hip; Libby wore a pretty floor length summer dress and Mackenzie wore a similar one, a basket draped on her arm.

That was when the incredibly overpriced salon makeup application went to waste. The tears started flowing freely as her best friend and adopted niece and nephew came up the path. 

“I brought reinforcements,” he motioned to them.

Libby handed Mackenzie off to Chris; Giuliana hugged the woman to her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Libby giggled and held her close. “Babe, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t believe you were going to do this without telling me!”

“Oh my god,” Giuliana uttered again and stepped back. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

“I think that was the plan,” Libby laughed.

“I just thought I should make a point of asking,” Giuliana replied and turned to Chris, but stopped dead when she saw the other people coming toward them.

Giuliana blinked rapidly, trying to make heads or tails of this development and looked to Chris who merely smiled. “Chris, what did you do?”

He chuckled and stepped in, resting a reassuring hand on her bare back. “I couldn’t do this without them… I know you didn’t want all the headaches of a big traditional wedding, but we just couldn’t do this without them.”

Her tears came freely when she realized her dad was crying. Maybe, and that was a _big_ maybe, she might have been able to resist all out crying at seeing her mother and Chris’ mother sniffling. But see her father misty eyed was another story all together.

“Mama! Papa!” Giuliana said, pushing past Libby and the kids to reach them. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“We wouldn’t miss it, baby,” her father said. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

Scott, who had come to stand up for his brother, laughed. “I’m surprised your dress isn’t black.”

Giuliana scoffed and playfully punched his arm. “I’d watch it, buddy. In a very small handful of minutes I’m going to be your sister permanently.”

Scott’s laugh deepened as he pulled her into his arms. “When you’re right, you’re right. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Scott released her so she could hug Lisa and slowly gravitate back to Chris. He was ready to receive her, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding on confidently and securely. As conversation continued, Giuliana looked around at the people gathered and felt content. This truly was perfect. No huge traditional thing could have been this intimate or this perfect for them.

Her eyes landed on Chris, who was laughing at something said. He was beautiful and perfect for her in so many ways. It was humbling to think they’d reached this point. He turned when he realized she was staring at him, a huge smile cracking his lips. Leaning in, he kissed her cheek, just by her ear.

A throat clearing stopped her from saying anything. The parish manager announced that the priest was ready for the ceremony.

Chris turned to her and lifted her hand to his lips. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Giuliana nodded, the bubbles of excitement in her stomach rising to her throat. She was left with her father, who looked her over again.

“Is my makeup okay?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Thank goodness they had waterproof everything,” she replied.

Her father laughed and hugged her close. “Giuliana, I just want you to know how much your mother and I love you. You didn’t have to be so secretive about this.”

“I was worried it would turn into a big circus,” she replied. “Not just because of mom, but because of who Chris is. We just wanted to get it done.”

He nodded. “I completely respect that decision. I’m just glad I got the opportunity to walk you down the aisle. I’ve been dreaming about this, but also dreading it since the day you were born.”

“You’ll still be my papa,” she sniffled.

“I know,” he said and offered his arm to her. “But I’m happy it’s Chris who I’m giving you away to. I know he’ll do right by you.”

Giuliana hugged his arm close and pushed him slightly with her shoulder. “I love you, Papa.”

With a light peck on her temple, he sighed. “Are you ready to do this?”

“Completely ready,” she said.

“Then we shouldn’t keep them waiting. We don’t want to worry Chris that you got cold feet.”

“It’s a little late for cold feet,” she laughed. Besides, that was the furthest thing away from her thoughts at the moment. The most important thing was getting to the end of that aisle and marrying her best friend. 

Giuliana walked with her father back into the church, feeling completely relaxed, elated and ready for the future… whatever it brought her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is now complete, though I'm leaving it open for more in future. Right now, there will be mention of this pairing in my Tom story "Picking Up the Pieces", so you may want to check that.
> 
> I want to take one last opportunity to give you ALL my thanks for reading, cheerleading, leaving kudos, leaving reviews... whatever you've done. Most of all, I hope you enjoyed the story in some part!
> 
> Thank you and happy holidays!


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